Creating Opportunities and Tackling Inequalities Scrutiny Committee

ABCREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND TACKLING INEQUALITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

MONDAY 5 JANUARY 20157.00 PM

Bourges/Viersen Room - Town Hall

AGENDAPage No

1. Apologies for absence

2. Declarations of Interest and Whipping Declarations

At this point Members must declare whether they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, or other interest, in any of the items on the agenda, unless it is already entered in the register of members’ interests or is a “pending notification “ that has been disclosed to the Solicitor to the Council. Members must also declare if they are subject to their party group whip in relation to any items under consideration.

3. Minutes of Meetings held on 13 October and 10 November 2014 5 - 22

4. Call In of any Cabinet, Cabinet Member or Key Officer Decisions

The decision notice for each decision will bear the date on which it is published and will specify that the decision may then be implemented on the expiry of 3 working days after the publication of the decision (not including the date of publication), unless a request for call-in of the decision is received from any two Members of a Scrutiny Committee or Scrutiny Commissions. If a request for call-in of a decision is received, implementation of the decision remains suspended for consideration by the relevant Scrutiny Committee or Commission.

5. City College Peterborough 23 - 28

6. Children's Social Care Complaints Supplementary Report 29 - 34

7. Review of Placement Strategy for Children Looked After and the Implementation of the Fostering Action Plan

35 - 48

8. Directors Report for Social Care Practice and Performance 49 - 56

9. Forward Plan of Executive Decisions 57 - 76

10. Work Programme 2014/2015 77 - 82

Public Document Pack

11. Date of Next Meeting

9 February 2015 – Joint Scrutiny of the Budget Phase 227 February 2015 – Joint Scrutiny in a Day – One Year On Event9 March 2015 – Creating Opportunities and Tackling

Inequalities Scrutiny Committee

There is an induction hearing loop system available in all meeting rooms. Some of the systems are infra-red operated, if you wish to use this system then please contact Paulina Ford on 01733 452508 as soon as possible.

Recording of Council Meetings: Any member of the public may film, audio-record, take photographs and use social media to report the proceedings of any meeting that is open to the public. A protocol on this facility is available at:

http://democracy.peterborough.gov.uk/documents/s21850/Protocol%20on%20the%20use%20of%20Recording.pdf

Emergency Evacuation Procedure – Outside Normal Office Hours

In the event of the fire alarm sounding all persons should vacate the building by way of the nearest escape route and proceed directly to the assembly point in front of the Cathedral. The duty Beadle will assume overall control during any evacuation, however in the unlikely event the Beadle is unavailable, this responsibility will be assumed by the Committee Chair.

Committee Members:

Councillors: S Day (Chair), B Rush, G Nawaz, M Jamil, J Shearman, B Saltmarsh and D Fower

Substitutes: Councillors: R Ferris, F Fox, I Walsh and A Shaheed

Education Co-optees: Paul Rossi, (Roman Catholic Church Representative),Miranda Robinson,(Church of England Representative),

Tricia Pritchard, (Director of Education & Training), Diocese of ElyStuart Francis, Parent Governor Representative

Alistair Kingsley – Independent Co-opted Member

Further information about this meeting can be obtained from Paulina Ford on telephone 01733 452508 or by email – [email protected]



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ABMINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND TACKLING INEQUALITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEEHELD IN THE

BOURGES/VIERSEN ROOM, TOWN HALL, PETERBOROUGHON MONDAY 13 OCTOBER 2014

Present: Councillors S Day (Chairman), B Rush, B Saltmarsh, R Ferris, N Sandford

Also present Alastair KingsleyStewart FrancisCllr Scott Michelle Nyani

Co-opted MemberEducation Co-opted MemberCabinet Member for Childrens Services Deputy Youth MP, Representing the Youth Council

Officers in Attendance:

Wendi Ogle-WelbournSharon Hawkins

Sue Westcott Claire George

Dania Castagliuolo

Director for Communities Interim Assistant Director, Safeguarding & CommunitiesExecutive Director for Children’s ServicesHead Teacher/Head of service for Pupil Referral Service Governance Officer, Scrutiny

Chairman’s Announcements

At the start of the meeting the Chairman advised the Committee that the order of the agenda would be altered to the following:

Item:5. Childrens Centres and Early Years Update 6. Portfolio Progress Report for Cabinet Member for Children’s Services 7. Update on the Pupil Referral Service 8. Performance Report on NEET/Raising the Participation age 9. Report on the Work of the Corporate Parenting Panel

1. Apologies

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Jamil and Councillor Fower. Councillor Ferris attended as substitute for Councillor Jamil and Councillor Sandford attended as substitute for Councillor Fower.


Item 7 Update on the Pupil Referral Service

Councillor Saltmarsh declared that she was on the Management Committee for the Pupil Referral Service.

Item 9 Report on the Work of the Corporate Parenting Panel

Councillor Saltmarsh declared that she was Vice Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel.

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3. Minutes of the meetings held on 8 September 2014

The minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2014 were approved as an accurate record.


There were no requests for Call-in to consider.

5. Children’s Centres and Early Years Update

The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and the Director for Communities, which provided the Committee with an update on the activities taking place in the de-designated children’s centres. The following areas were highlighted within the report:

The progress made in securing tenants for the remaining de-designated centres The progress in delivering children and family centred support and activities from de-

designated centres.

The Committee were asked to note the work and progress made in terms of the delivery of the proposals identified in the ‘New Vision for Early Years’, including Children’s Centres in Peterborough.

Observations and questions were raised and discussed including:

Members queried if any partner groups had been identified for Eye and Thorney Children’s Centres. The Director for Communities responded that recent opportunities regarding Eye were related to the developments at the Van Hague and the possible receipt of Section 106 money. The Local Authority would continue to be the lead tenant until there were further provisions in place.

Members queried what the current situation was with the Stanground Children’s Centre. Members were advised that the pre-school group at Stanground did look very positive and the Council was hoping to continue delivering this service. The Committee were reassured that until a lead tenant was in place the Local Authority would ensure that the centres remained open and services continued to be delivered.

Members asked if the Council monitored the services offered to families by the Children’s Centres and if they were making sure these services were best for the families. The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services responded that it was very important to have involvement of families who used the centres and the plan was to have groups working together in all of the de-designated centres, including parents who would advise the Council of requirements.

Members queried how the Council ensured that high standards were delivered within these services. The director for Communities advised the Committee that the Children’s Centres were inspected by Ofsted. The majority of de-designated Centres provided childcare which was also inspected by Ofsted, this indicated that the ratings were improving with regards to child minding and early year’s provision.

Members queried whether there was any provision in place for the recording of young people accessing these services. The Director for Communities explained that with regards to the de-designated centres, there were five checks which health visitors were required to carry out on the 0-5’s and these were monitored, therefore, results would be available on these checks through the Healthy Child Programme.

Members commented that there was a vast range of activities being delivered within the de-designated centres and queried whether there could be a matrix in place to discover if there were any gaps in provision. Members were advised that the overall outcome expected to be achieved in all of these centres was to ensure that children were more prepared for learning when they reached school age. With regard to the matrix this could be developed although it would vary in terms of reaching the needs of the centre users.

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Members queried whether Bretton was a de-designated centre and asked what the situation was with this centre at present. Members were informed that Bretton was one of the outreach hubs linked to the main children’s centres.

Members were concerned about the children outside of the designated centre area and asked what provisions were in place for them. Members were advised that health visitors would refer children outside of the designated centre area, who required additional attention, to one of the de-designated children’s centres.

Members queried how families in rural villages would come to find out about the centres or how the centres would find out about them. The Cabinet Member for Childrens Services responded that this would be discovered through the health visitors or health professionals in a variety of different ways.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the report and agreed for the Director of Communities to:

1. Circulate a briefing note advising of what is delivered from the Bretton Hub and when.2. Produce a report for January’s meeting on the main children’s centres delivery, to

demonstrate their wider reach.

6. Portfolio Progress Report for Cabinet Member for Children’s Services

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services introduced the report which provided the Committee with a summary of the key successes and deliverables of the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services. The following key areas were covered within the report:

CAFs (Early help and Referral) Referrals Single Assessments Section 47 (Child Protection) Enquires Children subject to a Child Protection Plan and initial Child Protection Conferences Child Protection Plans lasting two years or more Looked After Children Looked after Children Missing from Care Health of Looked After Children Child Protection Visits in Timescale Children in Need Update On Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) Update on Child Sex Exploitation (CSE) Update on recruitment and Retention

The report also informed Members that Peterborough’s early intervention activity, national Troubled Families programme, was called ‘Connecting Families’.

The aims of this programme were to get children back in to school, reduce youth crime and anti-social behaviour, put adults back in to employment and reduce the amount of money public services currently spent on them. The programme assigned a designated worker to engage with a whole family on all of its problems.

To date the programme had worked with over 300 families and around 200 families had been turned around.


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Members expressed concern regarding the retention of Social Workers. The Executive Director for Children’s Services responded that at present there were 24 full time equivalent permanent vacancies out of a work force of 83. More Social Workers were signing up with agencies and leaving the Council. There had been a movement set up from central Government to encourage private enterprise and provide agency Social Workers with a variety of benefits, although, this did not take in to account the long term benefits of working for the Local Authority, such as, Sickness, holiday and pension benefits. An enormous amount of work had been invested in the retention of Social Workers. Peterborough had featured on the Inside Out television programme, a YouTube video had been completed, work was in progress with Universities, practice teachers had been increased to help get quality students, a career progression scheme had been introduced for Social Workers and a Social Worker Academy was being developed.

Members asked what method of retention was being used with newly qualified Social Workers to ensure they were not attracted by the offers from agencies. Members were advised that they had discreet training and a mentor in the service and continuous support and supervision from their team manager.

Members asked how interpreters were employed to go along with the Social Workers to make sure all of the facts of a case were received and understood. Members were advised that this was not an easy task as over 200 languages were spoken in Peterborough. The Council did commission an interpreting service although, it was always dependent on the availability of the interpreters.

Members queried if the existing Social Workers had received an increase in their caseloads and how they were managing this increase. The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services responded that for a period of time the caseloads had been increasing. This was not the case at present, the average caseload was 19.5, taking on board that the more experienced Social Workers had up to 26 cases and newly qualified Social Workers had 8 to 10.

Members commented that they were pleased to see that the health of looked after children figures had risen and suggested that Peterborough made sure all looked after children had a health assessment. The Executive Director of Children’s Services responded that the Communities team had carried out work to ensure children were health assessed on time. This was constantly being monitored by a bimonthly report to the Achieving Outstanding Board.

At this point Councillor Sandford joined the meeting and apologised for his late arrival.

Members referred to page 58 of the report ‘Section 47 (Child Protection) Enquiries’ and asked what the national average was for the Child Protection enquiries. Members were advised that other Local Authorities ran between 60 and 70 percent of their Section 47 enquiries. Peterborough had a high number of Section 47 Enquiries with a low number of these coming to conference.

Members requested feedback on Single Assessments. Members were informed that Single Assessments were working very well. Not all of them were completed within the timescale, this was due to the Social Worker not receiving the adequate information form partner agencies on time.

Members queried what the interpretation service was costing the Council. The Director for Communities advised the Committee that the company was used solely by the council and charged approximately £30.00 per hour. There had been some initial discussions across the National Health Service and the Police around jointly commissioning this service. The issue was around accessing the right interpreter for the language needed at the time. The Council and partner agencies were looking to make sure they were recruiting people who were able to communicate with different communities.

Members queried whether all interpreters were CRB checked. The Director for Communities confirmed that all interpreters were CRB checked.

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ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the report and agreed for the Director for Communities to send the link to the Inside Out programme, which featured Peterborough’s Social Workers, to all Committee Members.

7. Update on Pupil Referral Services

The report was introduced by the Head teacher/Head of Service for Pupil Referral which provided an overview of the Pupil Referral Service, the role it played in education in the city and how it was performing.

The Committee was asked to review the report and ask for areas of clarity or further information.


Members referred to the table on page 15 of the report at 4.6 and queried what the meaning of guests was. The Head Teacher/Head of Service for Pupil Referral responded that this referred to children who attended only one or two sessions per week. This allowed these children to remain in mainstream schools.

Members commented that the results gained by this service were outstanding and suggested that more of this type of service was required.

Members asked how this service was funded. Members were advised that the service was funded the same as a mainstream school. There was a delegated budget which was formulated by numbers of pupils and the level of need. There was some delegated funding within schools for supporting children with additional needs and there was also pupil premium funding of which around 80% of pupils qualified for.

Members queried if head teachers were now working together to save resources. Members were informed that more of the school to school support was being noted, this was a model which the Local Authority was supporting schools in developing.

Members queried whether the Local Authority was interested in early reporting. Members were informed that early intervention was now taking place at home with the child’s family not just in school with the child.

Members queried whether children were able to attend the same school following exclusion. Members were advised that if the child had been permanently excluded then they could not return to the same school and a replacement school would be made available.

Members queried how much income was received through the Pupil Premium funding. Members were advised that £900 per child was received. The Pupil Referral Service would get the full £900 funding if the child was only on that school’s role. If the child was on the role of a mainstream school then the funding would go to the mainstream school who would then decide whether they wanted to use some of the funding for some time with the Pupil Referral Service. To obtain Pupil Premium Funding there would need to be a clear Pupil Premium Plan in place. Ofsted would come to inspect and they would expect to see results, impacts and outcomes.

Members commented that the Pupil Referral Service Team were very supportive, strong and professional when working with challenging young people.

Members queried whether the Fair Access Process had been successful and if there were any predicted challenges going forward. Members were informed that all schools were participating in this process. The Fair Access protocol was reviewed in March 2012. Prior to that it was run on a rota basis which made situations for young people quite unrealistic. The consultation process agreed for matching to be done to place the young person in a school which would allow them to achieve greater success.

Members queried whether all young people excluded from schools got an automatic referral to the Pupil Referral Service. If this was the case and a new school was to be found for the pupil, were all schools willing to take on the pupil. Members were advised

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that all schools did participate in Fair Access. The Head Teacher of the excluding school would make contact with the Pupil Referral Service to file the reporting form, this needed to be complete within 24 hours of the decision to permanently exclude. A meeting with the pupil’s family would then be held within five days this report. From there on there would be fifteen school days before a governor hearing would take place to decide permanent exclusion. Not all young people would end up within Pupil Referral.

Members congratulated the Head of Service for Pupil Referral on the work the team was conducting and the great deal of expertise in child behaviour management.

Members queried whether there was an opportunity, using expertise, to go in to schools to talk to teachers about how to manage problem children in classes. Members were advised that the Pupil Referral Service spent fifty percent of its time in schools working with teachers to build capacity, confidence and competence. The Head of Service for Pupil Referral Service was currently engaging with teachers on the Newly Qualified Teachers Support Programme and the new Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme. Low level classroom disruption was dealt with through the Secondary Behaviour Leads Group.

Members queried whether it was felt that the service or schools were overstretched. Members were advised the service and schools did not feel under pressure due to the pattern of working which Pupil Referral Service had established that included short term focused interventions. This enabled places to be used as effectively as possible by dealing with children short term, using negotiated planning and reintegration in to school.

Members queried whether it would be useful for children in Peterborough if there were more spaces available for them within the service. Members were advised that every child had access to the service when needed.

The Youth Council Representative asked how permanent exclusions were prevented. The Head of Service for Pupil Referral responded that this was prevented as much as possible by working together with head teachers and partner services to ensure the young person’s needs were met.

ACTION AGREED

The committee noted the report and agreed for the Head teacher/Head of Service to contact Michelle Nyani, Deputy Youth MP to discuss how the Youth Council could link in with the Pupil Referral Service.

8. Performance on NEET/Raising Awareness the Participation Age

The report was introduced by the Director for Communities on behalf of the Head of Corporate Property and Children’s Resources, which provided the latest data on young people aged 16 to 19 not in education, employment or training. The report also discussed raising the participation age criteria and the requirement for all young people to participate in education until the age of 17.


Members queried whether apprenticeships were being offered to young people. The Director for Communities replied that apprenticeships were being offered at present. The Council needed to ensure that they and their contractors also offered apprenticeships to young people.

Members referred to page 65 of the report 5.4 and queried why youth workers were being pooled to respond to locality wide objectives and not just ward areas. Members were advised that all of the locality youth workers were part of the Councils wider Community and Safety Service and they had a more targeted approach with the direct work delivered. They worked with local communities to help them with universal youth provision.

Members referred to page 66 of the report and queried whether Cross Keys had any success with the Moving in to Work Programme. Members were informed that there were currently four young people employed on six months paid work experience with Cross

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Keys and three young people had started college, five had full time jobs. Out of twelve young people on the programme only three remained without jobs.

Members queried whether any other partners were taking part in any programme similar to Moving in to Work. Members were advised that no other partners had a programme similar to this one in place.

Members queried how the ‘Not Known’ data was identified and how these young people were going to be helped in to employment, education or training. Members were advised that the data was tracked through schools. The young people were helped through various programmes run by Cross keys and the Princes Trust.

The Youth Council Representative asked whether the Council worked with schools to identify young people who would become NEET. The Director for Communities advised the Committee that Council worked closely with schools to identify young people who were likely to become NEET.

ACTIONS AGREED

The Committee agreed for the Director of Communities to:

1. Contact Michelle Nyani, Deputy Youth MP, to discuss holding an information day to identify what alternatives there were to attending sixth form.

2. Circulate information on whether Peterborough City Council or any of its partners offered work experience.

3. Circulate the answer to the following question, ‘Is there any particular reason why some wards had a high level of NEET’ as indicated on page 66 of the report.

4. Bring a report back to the Committee on how Peterborough City Council has encouraged partners and business to offer apprenticeships and what the outcomes are.

9. Report on the Work of the Corporate Parenting Panel

The Vice Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel introduced the report which provided the Committee with an update on the work of the Corporate Parenting Panel over the last twelve months.

The report also informed the Committee that the topics discussed this year had been focused on the priorities that drove the Children in Care and Care Leavers Strategy, which were:

Assertive prevention of care by supporting families Effective care planning Placement stability and range of high quality placement provision Health issues of children and young people in care Educational attainment and achievement Leisure and interests outside of school Working to their promises and pledge


Members commented that all Councillors should be reminded that they were all corporate parents.

Members commented that the Corporate Parenting Panel was very useful and children who attended the meeting were very honest. They felt they could speak freely.

Members queried why there were no adoptive parents on the panel and suggested that they received a standing invite to the Corporate Parenting meetings. The Vice Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel responded that this was something that the Panel were planning to add in to their work programme.

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The Executive Director for Children’s Services commented that the key question should be what difference and impact has the Corporate Parenting Panel had on the lives of children in care.

Members referred to page 54 (ix) of the report, and queried whether Members had been appointed as champions and how this was moving forward. The Vice Chairman of the Corporate Parenting Panel responded that Members had been elected under the different strands, although this had not been moved forward. The Executive Director of Children’s Services informed Members that these tasks became impossible to administer therefore, all Members became Champions.

Members asked for an example of where the Corporate Parenting Panel had made a difference in the lives of children in care. The Interim Assistant Director for Safeguarding & Communities advised informed Members that children in care were now provided with proper suitcases for their belongings instead of bin liners. Children no longer have to wait for passports.

ACTION AGREED

The committee agreed for the Interim Assistant Director for Safeguarding to provide evidence of what differences the Corporate Parenting Panel had made to the lives of Children in care.

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommended to the Corporate Parenting Panel that the following subjects listed within the Panel’s Terms of Reference were delivered as agenda items, presenting one of the following strands per meeting:

Housing Employment and training opportunities within Council departments and with partner

agencies Health Educational Attainment and access to Higher Education Recreation and Leisure activities Finance and benefits

10. Forward Plan of Key Decisions

The Committee received the latest version of the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions, containing key decisions that the Leader of the Council anticipated the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Members would make during the course of the following four months. Members were invited to comment on the Forward Plan and, where appropriate, identify any relevant areas for inclusion in the Committee’s work programme.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

11. Work Programme 2014/2015

Members considered the Committee’s Work Programme for 2014/15 and discussed possible items for inclusion.

Members requested that:

The City College item due to come a meeting in January, included information on apprenticeships offered.

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An item on apprenticeships/work experience within the Council and among partners to be brought to the Committee in March.

ACTION AGREED

To confirm the work programme for 2014/15 and the Senior Governance Officer to include any additional items as requested during the meeting.

The meeting began at 7.00pm and ended at 9.07pm CHAIRMAN

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ABMINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND TACKLING INEQUALITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEEHELD IN THE

BOURGES/VIERSEN ROOM, TOWN HALL, PETERBOROUGHON MONDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2014

Present: Councillors S Day (Chairman), C Harper, J Peach, B Saltmarsh, J Shearman, M Jamil, D Fower

Also present Alastair KingsleyAndrew Brown

Co-opted MemberEducation Co-optee

Officers in Attendance:

Wendi Ogle-WelbournHayley ThornhillSue Westcott Johnathan Lewis

Director of Communities Intelligence ManagerExecutive Director for Children’s ServicesAssistant Director for Education, Resources and Corporate Property

1. Apologies

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Rush and Councillor Nawaz. Councillor Peach attended as substitute for Councillor Rush and Councillor Harper attended as substitute for Councillor Nawaz. Apologies for absence were also received from the following Education Co-opted Members, Miranda Robinson and Stewart Francis. Andrew Brown was in attendance as substitute for Miranda Robinson.


There were no declarations of interest or whipping declarations.


There were no requests for Call-in to consider.

4. The Connection Families Programme

The report was introduced by the Intelligence Manager who was responsible for coordinating some of the work for the connecting families programme within the city. The report provided the Committee with an update on the current phase of the Connecting Families Programme and proposals for the expanded programme planned for implementation in 2015.


Did the new broader criteria for the next phase make success more achievable? The Intelligence Manager responded that mental health, which is one of the criteria in the new programme, had been a real issue with many of the families that the current programme had come into contact with. The next phase of the programme includes not only mental health but other physical health issues as well as domestic abuse and families who are at risk of financial exclusion, which would mean reaching a much wider cohort of people.

How many of the individual criteria do you need to achieve to be deemed to have had a successful turnaround? Members were informed that three or four criteria needed to be demonstrated and satisfied to qualify for the programme. In order to claim a result for

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‘turning a family around’, we must demonstrate that there has been significant and sustained progress against the issues that the family first presented with, this could be, for example, returning to work and/or improving school attendance.

The report implied that there are savings of £2.84M. How has this figure been reached? Members were advised that a great deal of research had gone into the costs. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) had also done a lot of work with the Treasury and had just released a cost savings calculator and this is how the figure had been reached. All families locally would be put through the cost savings calculator.

Members sought assurance that the Local Authority would be able to continue to pay its contribution over the next five years. Members were informed that the Local Authority attracted payment by results and due to the number of families that had been turned around in the programme last year there was a budget that would be carried forward from the payment by results. This money will be put back into the programme and providing there are enough families in the programme this will provide money to run the programme for another five years.

Members referred to the table at paragraph 5.5 of the report, “Improvements made by the family”: The table showed that 54 adults in the family had returned to work. Members sought further clarification. Members were advised that in order to achieve the claim the Local Authority had to demonstrate that the adult had been in continuous work for 26 weeks.

Members requested that future reports should show the cost of delivering the programme as well as the savings and also include the criteria. Members were informed that the Local Authority received a small grant up front to pay for the Local Authority costs.

What happens if families do not want to engage with the programme? Members were advised that the Connecting Families Programme was part of the wider early intervention offer and may not suit all families in which case they would be removed from the programme and another family would replace them.

Members noted that 270 families out of 450 families had been turned around. What had been the issues with the remaining 180 families? Members were informed that there was a stepped approach with the families in the programme and families were at different stages in the programme.

Members were informed that a lot of the savings the government talked about were more about reducing the need to spend as opposed to save and it was more about the management of the programme.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the report and requested that the Director of Communities provide a further report in six months’ time which should include a more detailed analysis of costs and savings of the programme and a detailed example of a family going through the programme.

5. Pupil Premium Overview

The Assistant Director for Education, Resources and Corporate Property introduced the report which provided the Committee with an oversight of the Pupil Premium Grant (PPG) both at national context and some information on the PPG in Peterborough. The report provided suggestions about how schools and the council were intending to continue to target improvements in outcomes for children who qualify for the PPG.


Members referred to the mention of an action plan within the report to further improve the outcomes for children who qualify for the PPG. The list of actions within the report did not appear to constitute a proper plan. Members sought clarification as to why the list of actions had not been done before. Members were informed that the list of actions in the report were already being done and the list was intended to provide a snap shot of the work already being undertaken. There was a more detailed plan in place.

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Members referred to the mention of “Improving data analysis, tracking and predictions on pupil premium cohorts” and asked how this was going to be achieved. Members were informed that this related specifically to ‘adopted children’ who were a new part of the Pupil Premium Grant. Work was being targeted around tracking this new cohort.

Members noted that Welbourne Primary School and Hampton Hargate Primary School were given specific mention in the report with regard to Pupil Premium effectiveness. Members wanted to know if these schools were a fair reflection of comments made by Ofsted concerning other schools across the city. The inclusion of examples of schools in need of improvement would have also been helpful. The Assistant Director responded that there had been a very positive outcome on Pupil Premium across the city. An analysis of recent Ofsted Inspections could be done to extract further detail.

Following the reconfiguration of Childrens centres how long will it be before we begin to see the outcome of the work that is now being directed at disadvantaged children feeding through to the early screening results of year 1 reception children. Members were informed that the Pupil Premium for Early Years would not start until next year. The focus for Pupil Premium at Childrens Centres took a holistic view of the child and not phonics and literacy skills.

Was there a system in place to track young people leaving secondary school who were in receipt of Pupil Premium to see if they were going into further education, employment or training? Members were informed that destination data for years 11 and 13 was collected from secondary schools showing where pupils go to on leaving school. Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) were also recorded. Further analysis of both sets of data with regard to those in receipt of Pupil Premium could be done.

Was Pupil Premium funding an addition to the schools overall block funding. Members were advised that it was new money coming into schools but there had historically been recycled grant money.

What can be done to ensure other schools get access to best practice? Members were advised that there was a Pupil Premium Leads Group for secondary schools in place and they had already met twice to share best practice. A similar group was being set up for primary schools. The Pupil Premium Gold Medal award winning school from London had been invited to Peterborough to share best practice.

Members were concerned about the Universal Infant Free School meal programme and the impact this may have on parents applying for free school meals. Members were informed that schools were continuing to encourage parents to apply for Free School Meals to ensure that Pupil Premium funding continued. Campaigns and initiatives were taking place between now and January 2015.

Are the numbers of pupils currently claiming Pupil Premium robust? Members were advised that deprivation rates against the take up of free school meals had been analysed and compared with other authorities Peterborough appeared to be in line with other similar authorities for primary schools however secondary schools was slightly lower.

Members commented that there did not seem to be a unified way of reporting Pupil Premium across schools. The Assistant Director agreed and felt that Ofsted should provide a set format for schools to follow. The Local Authority did send out a pro forma to all schools but it was at the discretion of the school how the Pupil Premium information was presented.

Members referred to paragraph 5.6 and sought further clarification “Peterborough increased by 10.3% on % of FSM eligible students attaining GCSE benchmark – the third highest increase nationally. Whilst still in the lowest quartile, this is a significant increase from 2012, when we were in the bottom quartile”. Members were informed that Peterborough had been 151st out of 151 authorities in 2012 and were now 110 which was a significant improvement. However, there was still a gap to close in attainment to reach the national average and the plan which was in place was working towards this.

Members referred to the education focus group and asked if they had met. Members were informed that they had not yet met.

Members asked how the stigma of claiming free school meals could be addressed. Members were informed that all secondary schools and some primary schools had

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cashless catering and most schools had finger print recognition which helped to eliminate the identification of those who received free school meals.

Members sought clarification as to what families were being asked to apply for. Was it Free School Meals or Pupil Premium? Members were advised that parents were asked to apply for both in that if they apply for Pupil Premium they would get a free school meal. Parents were being informed as to how Pupil Premium provided extra funding to the school to support their child.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the report and requested the following information be provided:

1. An analysis of recent Ofsted Inspections to be undertaken to extract further detail on the impact of Pupil Premium and;

2. Destination data and NEET data to be analysed to provide details of the outcomes of those young people in receipt of Pupil Premium.

6. Effectiveness of Education and Training Provision for 16-19 Year Olds in Peterborough – Ofsted Review

The report was introduced by the Assistant Director for Education, Resources and Corporate Property and provided the Committee with details of the review of the effectiveness of education and training provision for 16 to 19 year olds in Peterborough undertaken by Ofsted in May. The report provided the findings of the review and the draft action plan which addressed the findings.


The Chair congratulated the Assistant Director for providing the information in the report so soon after the Ofsted report had been published.

Members were informed that the action plan was in draft and dates for delivering the action plan would be populated and a final version would be presented to the Committee when complete.

Members referred to the recommendations from Ofsted and asked if the following recommendation was dealt with in the action plan - “continue to champion the needs of all young people but report publicly and more robustly on shortcomings in post – 16 provision across the city”. Members were advised that it had been picked up in the action plan under the section 3 – Develop a post 16 Education/Skills plan that articulates the council’s aspirations and expectations for young people aged 16 – 25. There had been a Post 16 Strategy in place but it was old and needed refreshing.

Members referred to page 51 action point 1:4:3, Disseminate the model of apprenticeship support developed by Cross Keys Homes. Will this inform the piece of work involving Amey, Serco and Skanska? Members were advised that it would inform that piece of work. The Cross Keys model was very positive and the intention was to try and role the model out more widely.

Members referred to action point 1:2:3 on page 47 – Support the introduction of a Common Application Process across Peterborough schools and learning providers. Why had this not been put in place before? Members were informed that there had been a common application process in place but schools had not wanted to support this when the legislation changed and roles and responsibilities altered. The 14 – 19 Partnership ended when the legislation changed and funding from government stopped. This was now being looked at again and the local authority is working with schools on this.

Has there been consideration to joining up all of the Key Stage 5 providers so that students were not just looking at school provision but also apprenticeships and college provision in one grouping. A local authority directory may encourage local providers to come forward and register their provision. A link to the directory could then be provided on school websites. Members were informed that there was an issue with information from

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the government and who was providing courses in the area. The Education Funding Agency could inform the Local Authority of which providers were in the area and Ofsted would be taking this up. There would be a big event next year on Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) inviting all providers to one place. This would help in collating a list of providers.

Members referred to page 47 action point 1:2:2, “Identify a lead secondary school improvement consultant with the responsibility to support and challenge schools in developing an appropriate KS5 curriculum offer”. Is this an additional post? Members were informed that there needed to be a focus on KS5 and existing resources within the authority would be reworked to allow for this.

ACTIONS AGREED

The Committee noted the report and requested that the Assistant Director for Education, Resources and Corporate Property bring the Effectiveness of education and training provision for 16-19 year olds in Peterborough Action Plan back to the Committee when completed.

7. Recruitment and Retention of Social Workers

The Executive Director of Children’s Services introduced the report which provided the Committee with an update on the current position of the recruitment and retention of staff in Children’s Social Care.


How does Peterborough compare to other authorities with recruitment and retention of Social Workers? Members were advised that benchmarking had shown that Peterborough was slightly better off than some authorities and much better placed than others. The Shire Counties had a much more stable workforce but the cities and Unitary Authorities had a bigger churn of staff.

Members commented that when the problem of recruiting social workers had occurred some years ago staff within the authority in other areas of work within Children’s Services and other parts of the council were considered for social worker roles as a career development opportunity. This provided a higher retention rate. Had this been considered? The Executive Director agreed that this was a good idea and this would be looked into. The DfE were offering a bursary scheme to staff with some professional qualifications who wanted to develop their career and this was being looked into.

Members were concerned about the rate of pay for agency staff being higher than permanent staff and asked if the pay for permanent staff could be higher. This may reduce the problem of social workers leaving and therefore reduce the need for agency staff. Members were advised that this would provide a problem with other authorities competing and increasing their rates of pay. A Memorandum of Understanding had been put in place with other authorities regarding an agreement on the rates of pay for permanent social workers and agency staff. Peterborough provided a slightly better rate of pay than some authorities.

Members commented that one of the reasons for recruiting social workers might be because of the bad publicity which would put people off taking it up as a career. The Executive Director responded that the adverse publicity had not helped and it had meant fewer trainee social workers had been recruited. A lot of work had been undertaken to enhance the reputation of social workers in Peterborough.

Has consideration been given to bringing in social workers from other countries? Members were informed that the Executive Director had a meeting scheduled with someone who sourced qualified social workers from Eastern European countries. One of the difficulties was around the registration of social workers as social workers in Eastern European countries did not have the same registration process. Another issue was that they often did not speak very much English.

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Members were interested in the Social Worker Academy but wanted to know if a time limit for staying with the authority could be put in place. Members were advised that this was being looked at to see if after training social workers could be asked to sign a contract to stay with the authority for a minimum of two years.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the report.

8. Directors Report for Social Care Practice and Performance

The Executive Director of Children’s Services introduced the report which provided the Committee with an update on the progress of performance and practice in Children’s Social Care. The following highlights as of September 2014 were covered:

Early help assessments at all-time high Thresholds applied appropriately in respect of referrals High number of children subject to a Child Protection Plan/Child Protection

enquiries Agency rate increased – proposals for an Academy to CMT

The Chair thanked the Executive Director for the information being provided to Councillors on the ongoing child sex exploitation case.


Members noted that the number of Child Protection enquiries had risen and was higher than the same time last year. Members felt that if children were in need of protection then the fact that the number had risen did not matter as it was the duty of the authority to protect them. The Executive Director responded that there was a high number of Section 47 Child Protection Enquiries and there needed to be further interrogation to gather all the evidence when the referral was made. This would determine whether it was necessary for a police officer to visit the home with the Social Worker. Some of the work done needed to be done under the Children in Need procedures rather than Child Protection procedures.

Members sought clarification on the 90.6% of single assessments completed up to the end of September in timescale. There was no target figure to benchmark this against. Members were informed that the target was 100% and all single assessments should be within timescale.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the report.

9. Scrutiny in a Day – One Year On

The Senior Governance Officer introduced the report which informed the Committee on proposals for reviewing the Joint Scrutiny in a Day event which had been held on 17 January 2014 which looked at the impacts of welfare reform.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the report and endorsed the proposal to hold a further Scrutiny in a Day – One Year On event.

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10. Forward Plan of Executive Decisions

The Committee received the latest version of the Council’s Forward Plan of Executive Decisions, containing key decisions that the Leader of the Council anticipated the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Members would make during the course of the following four months. Members were invited to comment on the Forward Plan and, where appropriate, identify any relevant areas for inclusion in the Committee’s work programme.

ACTION AGREED

The Committee noted the Forward Plan of Executive Decisions.

11. Work Programme 2014/2015

Members considered the Committee’s Work Programme for 2014/15 and discussed possible items for inclusion.

The Senior Governance Officer advised the Committee that Scrutiny of the Budget would be held in two phases this year. The first meeting would be held on 3 December 2014.

ACTION AGREED

To confirm the work programme for 2014/15 and the Senior Governance Officer to include any additional items as requested during the meeting.

The meeting began at 7.00pm and ended at 8.53pm CHAIRMAN

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CREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND TACKLING INEQUALITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Agenda Item No. 5

5 JANUARY 2015 Public Report

Report of the Principal/Head of Service, City College Peterborough

Contact Officer(s) – Pat Carrington, Principal / Head of ServiceContact Details - 01733 761361

CITY COLLEGE PETERBOROUGH

1. PURPOSE

1.1 To give an update on Peterborough City Council's Adult and Community Learning Provision in terms of the role that City College Peterborough (CCP) has to play in delivering improved educational and other outcomes for the city and also to look at the College's results, performance, course offers and changes since my last report to the committee.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1 The committee to review and ask for areas for further clarity / exploration.

3. LINKS TO THE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY STRATEGY

3.1 The work delivered by City College Peterborough (CCP) cuts across all four priorities of the Sustainable Community Strategy and all the strands of the Single Delivery Plan, by helping Peterborough residents improve their skills sets, raise potential and aspirations and by having a direct impact on individuals' social and economic wellbeing in Peterborough. The service offered by CCP is to deliver learning opportunities that support local need and help improve the social and economic wellbeing of local residents and communities, working with families, young people and adults with a particular emphasis on the disadvantaged and vulnerable. The College plays a key role in 14 to 19 education and supporting vulnerable groups in the city. We are commissioned to work with key groups and play a huge role in the recent successful inspection of 16 to 19 services.

4. BACKGROUND

4.1 City College Peterborough (CCP) currently employs 95 permanent members of staff and has 134 sessional tutors and works actively with 55 partners across the City. PCC has, for a number of years, given devolved powers to the Governing Board for the financial solvency of the Service/College, its sound management and for all quality matters.

The Principal, who is also an officer of the Council as its Head of Adult Skills, reports into the Assistant Director of Corporate Property and Children’s Resources but is equally accountable to the Governing Board and now has a national and regional profile for adult education. She is on the board of and is the National Policy Lead for HOLEX (the national forum for local authority education providers) on LEPs and young people's provision; sits on the National LEAFEA Executive committee as the National Lead for Leadership and Governance; sits on the regional Ofsted Reference Group for raising standards and attainment in the Eastern region and will continue to work to raise Peterborough's profile further on the skills agenda, helping to inform and drive national policy.

The communities in which the College often works are those that have low skills and low aspirations, often in areas of high deprivation.

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4.2

These services are ensured by the College working towards the following agreed objectives: to advance education; to advance health; to relieve unemployment; to relieve poverty; to promote for the benefit of the public the provision of facilities for recreation or other

leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the condition of life of the said inhabitants;

the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation in particular by the provision of facilities for the playing of sports and related activities;

to promote social inclusion for the public benefit by preventing people from becoming socially excluded, relieving the needs of those people who are socially excluded and assisting them to integrate into society.

This is all carried out at nil cost to the Council, as CCP operates independently and carries out its own functions including, payroll, HR, pensions and redundancy costs. It operates as a self-financing organisation and is under contract to the Skills Funding Agency, the Education Funding Agency, the National Apprenticeship Service, European Social Funding, other smaller funding pots and is also sub-contracted to by a private provider and an FE College (bringing additional income into the City), as well as delivering programmes at full cost recovery where no direct funding is available. The College turnover is around £5m per annum.

Types of Courses Offered. Adult skills – qualifications for adults, including English, Maths and ESOL (English for

Speakers of Other Languages) and working with unemployed adults to train them in the skills needed to enter or return to the workplace.

Young people / NEETs- 16-18 year olds who, for whatever reason, did not do well at school by developing them to move into the workplace or further education or training as well as working with 14-16 year olds as an alternative to school. This is delivered via Study Skills programme, social action project (National Citizenship programme) and engagement programme (My Generation Next)

Traineeships and Apprenticeships - Traineeships is a programme for young people who want to work, but who need extra help to gain an apprenticeship or job. Traineeships give these young people the opportunity to develop the skills and workplace experience that employers require. An Apprenticeship is a real job with training so candidates earn while they learn and pick up some acquired nationally-recognised qualifications as part of their training.

Community Learning - delivering non-qualification adult training and learning to support sustainable and adaptive communities, and move people closer to the work place. We also fund some programmes for the third sector to deliver in their own specialist areas to engage with residents that we would not normally reach and to start them on their journey of lifelong learning.

Family Learning - Helping parents/ grandparents and carers to support children's learning and development whilst improving their own English, maths and parenting skills at the same time.

Business – up-skilling and developing the workforce from management training nationally, apprenticeships, both for young people and adults within the existing workforce, through to mandatory qualifications and bespoke softer skills training delivery.

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4.3 Results and PerformanceThere is a robust strategy in place for continually improving outcomes for learners and apprentices to ensure a continued drive to raise the standards of teaching, learning and assessment across the wide range of provision. Challenging targets are set and a clear picture of progress is presented through a bespoke ‘score card’, which is reported to governors, enabling them to scrutinise performance effectively, holding the college leaders and managers to account.

2013/14 top line resultsSuccess rates (those that started a course and went on to achieve their planned qualification)Achievement rates (on non qualification courses those that achieved their personal objectives and had a positive impact). Total number of funded learners for 2013/14 - 4551.

Success / Achievement RateArea

2012/13 2013/14

Comparator

Apprenticeships 78.40% 77.7% (s)72.3% national bench mark*

Community Learning Trust 97% 97% (a) Employability 84% 93% (s) 9% increase on yrESOL 90% 92% (s) 79% national bench mark*Family Learning 96% 98% (a)

Counselling 88% 91% (s)86.3% national bench mark*

PCDL 94% 99% (a) Skills for Life 19+ 83% 86% (s) 84% national bench mark*GCSE Maths and English 100% 100% (s) Study Skills 63% 73% (s) 10% increase on year

LLSS 19+ 100% 98% (a)

* source, Skills Funding Agency national success rates tables

There are no significant achievement gaps between different groups ie ethnicity, disability and gender and for 2014/15 we have further identified our own key groups for monitoring, such as ex-offenders, teenage parents, young carers and care leavers, to enable us to monitor their progress more closely.

There is a high standard to the learners’ work and recognition of this with celebration of the learners’ achievements and participation. Our GCSE achievement rates are 100% English and maths Grades A*-C. We have received excellent awarding body reports, have students artwork displayed in V&A museum and we have secured display space at the first class lounge at Kings Cross after a successful display at Peterborough station. The college has another C&G Medal of Excellence winner who also became runner up in C&G National Apprenticeship of the Year and the Unlock the Box (a community cohesion project) won a regional NIACE Adult Learning award for Project of the Year 2013/14.

The College was approached by Ofsted to ask if they could carry out a pilot short inspection on them under their new proposed framework for Good Providers. CCP were the only Adult and Community Learning provider nationally to be involved in these pilots. The pilot inspection took place in November and we are extremely positive about the outcome.

In addition to this, the college has also: been featured as Best Practice in the Parliamentary Review of Education won the Peterborough Telegraph's Business Award for Corporate Social Responsibility been awarded the Investor in the Environment Green Award

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4.4

4.5

Changes since the last report to the committee City College has grown, developed and tendered for additional work securing an extra circa £600,000 into the City that consists of:

Doubling our adult apprenticeship provision. Being awarded funding to deliver higher level apprenticeships (degree level). Created 22 additional high needs funding places for those learners with learning

difficulties and disabilities, meaning they no longer have to travel outside Peterborough. Grown the Study Skills contract (our NEET work) by an additional £300,000 Winning a contract to deliver maths and English in the work place. Securing a contract to deliver National Careers Service Information, Advice and

Guidance (IAG) in the City.

We have also secured capital of circa £700,000 from the Skills Funding Agency to extend the Brook Street campus to allow us to work with more young people with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities, thus reducing the need to educate them outside the City.

In partnership with Cross Keys, the college has set up a Care academy that recruits and trains people wanting to progress into the Care sector. 75% of learners were successful in securing employment as a result.

Apprenticeships for care leavers is a join initiative currently being developed with the Local Authority to begin the progression of care leavers.

The College staff have further refined and developed a more detailed understanding of learners’ needs and behaviours, which is used to effectively support learners; for example, those at risk of self-harm.

Staff have recently undergone training by the local ‘Prevent’ coordinator so that they understand the issues and the actions they can take to prevent radicalisation, giving them confidence in their own judgements.

The council now fully utilise the Principal/Head of Service, as an officer for the Council, as expert advisor on matters pertaining to the Adult Skills agenda. She has set up a Skills Strategy Partnership Group consisting of strategic leaders from across the City who have a role to play in developing the City's skills and she now also Chairs the City NEET/RPA group.

In 2014, the College celebrated its 70th anniversary with a year of celebrations including a very special intergeneration event at which 70 people who were also 70 in 2014 were invited, with a guest, to a birthday celebration 3 course lunch, that was cooked and served by our young catering and study skills students.

Role the City College has to play in delivering improved educational and other outcomes for the city.At the College the delivery of education is not seen just as the hard, measurable outcomes, ie exam results, but also about building those softer social skills including confidence and social empowerment. It embraces learning for social change and helps to develop a sense of self, grows an individual's confidence and self esteem and helps to raise their aspirations.

To us, a successful outcome is deemed to be an improvement in educational attainment, distance travelled and the developing of the individual themselves to become a more active and rounded citizen who is functional in today’s society.

Through thorough assessment of learners’ and apprentices’ starting points, support needs and risk factors, staff plan to develop individual learners’ personal, learning and employability skills, with the aim of reducing dependence on support services over time.

The college has a focus on developing employability skills and independence including

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personal development, behaviour and welfare.

We have excellent success rates as demonstrated above but we also measure "positive destinations", for our young people (those that then go on to paid employment, further learning / training and volunteering). The rate for 13/14 was 76% for Study Programme learners and from 2014/15 we will, for our adult learners, measure "impact", asking them what the impact of attending the programme has been on them and / or their families.

5. IMPLICATIONS

5.1 N/A

6. CONSULTATION

6.1 N/A

7. NEXT STEPS

7.1 N/A

8. BACKGROUND DOCUMENTSUsed to prepare this report, in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985

8.1 N/A

9. APPENDICES

9.1 N/A

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Agenda Item No. 6


Report of the Executive Director of Childrens Services

Contact Officer(s) – Belinda Evans, Complaint ManagerContact Details – 01733 296324

CHILDREN’S SOCIAL CARE COMPLAINTS SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT

1. PURPOSE

1.1 This report was requested by committee on 8th September 2014 as a Supplementary report to the annual complaints report for Childrens Social Care Statutory Complaints.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1 The Scrutiny Committee are requested to consider the report and make recommendations for further scrutiny if deemed appropriate.


3.1 The annual complaints report is a fundamental part of the corporate plan, the Sustainable Community Strategy and the Local Area Agreement.

4. BACKGROUND

4.1 This report was requested by committee on 8th September 2014 as a Supplementary report to the annual complaints report for Childrens Social Care Statutory Complaints 2013-2014

5. KEY ISSUES

5.1

5.2

The Childrens Social Care Annual Complaints Report for 2013/14 was reviewed at the Scrutiny meeting on 8th September 2014. This lead to a request for an additional report to further explore two specific areas which were:-

Analysis on the causes of complaints in Childrens Social Care (CSC) and what the service area plans to do to address the issues and improve

Further information about the outcomes from the workshop held in May 2014 with CSC managers to discuss the reasons why complaint responses are often delayed.

Root Cause Analysis

Complaints are categorised into 10 nationally recognised categories by complaint services to help identify why complaints occur and to allow focus on the main areas of contention. Our complaints software allows analysis of these categories further by team and in terms of the outcome of the complaint. By focusing on the main complaint reasons and then the main teams where complaints occur we hope to reduce the need for clients to complain and improve the service they receive.

In the annual complaint report a breakdown was provided of the complaints received last year by complaint category (table 1).

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5.3

Table 1

Nature of Complaint 2013/14

About Legislation 0

About Policy 6

Breach of Confidentiality 1

Broken Promise/Appointment 0

Delay/Failed Service 47

Denial/Withdrawal/Change Service 5

Lack of /Incorrect Information 3

Not to Standard 14

Staff Attitude/Conduct 39

Other 1

Total 116

From this it is clear that there are 3 main categories of complaint being received by CSC.

Delayed/Failed Service Complaints

The most common cause of complaint was Delay/Failed Service.

47 complaints were received where the customer believed that there had been a delay or a failure in the service they were expecting.

Children Social Care teams are challenged by high work volumes and conflicting priorities and have a series of controls and checks in place to constantly monitor performance against these deadlines many of which are statutory timescales that govern the work that they do with families. They aim for a high level of compliance with these statutory timescales and there are daily and monthly scorecards which are reviewed by the senior management team which allow them to identify where the stress points are and how these can be managed.

Illustrated in Table 2 are the 3 teams within Childrens Social Care that receive the majority of these complaints.

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Table 2.

Delayed/Failed Service Complaints

Team Complaints Received

Complaint Upheld

Complaint Partially Upheld

Complaint Not Upheld

No Finding

Looked After Children 14 6 4 3 1Family Support 11 3 4 4 0Referral & Assessment 7 3 3 1 0

The Looked After Children Service have many ongoing statutory timescales which govern their work for example the timing of LAC reviews and the frequency of visits to Looked After Children.

However when analysing the data it is clear that the complaints upheld under this category for Looked After children were not for the failure to adhere to statutory timescales. Examples of the complaints upheld are

Delay in making transport arrangements for a contact session

Delay in applying for a passport for a child in Foster Care

Delay in informing a parent about travel plans for their child who was in Foster Care

These are the type of complaints that are being upheld where the team recognise the delay or failure to provide the service was their responsibility.

Family Support teams are also held to a range of statutory timescales and are often working with families where a number of challenges need to be made to families about the standard of care that is provided to children. Examples of the complaints upheld for Family Support under this category are

Complaint about the delay in agreed actions to support family

Unhappy with the social worker allocated to the case -does not feel issues have been actioned when expected.

The Family Support teams support families over a longer period and therefore the volume of cases is higher. Some families do not want the intervention of Social Care and are keen to bring matters to a conclusion quickly making their expectations of the service unrealistic. However where delays have been unreasonable the team are accepting of this, they offer an apology to the family and sometimes a change of social worker if the workload needs to be re-balanced.

The Referral and Assessment team (now the First Response Team) also have to complete their work within statutory timescales.

Complaints upheld about this service include:-

Unhappy with lack of support offered by the department

Lack of communication.

Unhappy about the way in which case has been handled - constant change of SW, lack of communication etc.

Where referral volumes fluctuate there will inevitably be times when social workers must choose between conflicting priorities and this means that they may not be able to provide

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5.4

information or respond to communications by families as promptly as the service or family would expect.

Staff Conduct/Attitude Complaints

The second highest complaint category was Staff Conduct/Attitude with 39 complaints about this issue.

The 3 teams where these complaints predominate are shown in Table 3 below

Table 3

Staff Conduct/Attitude

Team Complaints Received

Complaint Upheld

Complaint Partially Upheld

Complaint Not Upheld

No Finding

Looked After Children 2 2 0 1 0Family Support 25 5 9 11 0Referral & Assessment 4 1 1 1 1

This clearly shows that the majority of complaints about staff conduct and attitude are about the Family Support team. As explained previously this team often work with families for extended periods where there are child protection concerns and deliver messages to parents in particular that may not wish to engage with the service. Against these pressures it is important that the workers communicate clearly and professionally. It is unrealistic to expect that families in this situation will not sometimes be angry and difficult to engage with and may seek to make complaints about the staff that they feel are being intrusive in their lives. So a certain level of complaints of this nature is anticipated. However there are a number of complaints for this team that have been upheld or partially upheld.

An example of the complaints upheld or partially upheld for Family Support under Staff Conduct/Attitude are as follows:-

Unhappy as believes the SW is not capturing accurate information about the family.

Complaint about the attitude of the SW allocated to case.

Unhappy with lack of actions taken by Social Worker

Unhappy with social workers conduct towards his children and his wife

Lack of communication from her child’s Social Worker

Therefore the department need to continually assess the competency and attitude of their staff both by supervision and the performance management process which ensures that staff know what the procedures and targets are and also the expected behaviour standards. Complaints help senior management evaluate where there are particular problems for individual staff or the service as a whole. Where the problem is with an individual member of staff an upheld complaint about attitude or conduct should be followed by a meeting with their manager to discuss what they need to do to improve and in severe cases could lead to disciplinary action.

Where the problem is not isolated to certain individuals the service need to consider how they can engage more effectively with their client group to minimise distrust and uncertainty.

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5.5

5.6

‘Not to Standard’ Complaints

The third most common category of complaint is received in relatively low numbers and tends to fluctuate. This year the category is Not to Standard – where the customer is generally dissatisfied with the service provided and does not think it is acceptable. There were 14 complaints in this category last year which were evenly spread across the teams. None of these complaints were upheld and only 4 were partially upheld so there are no particular lessons to be learnt from this category.

Outcomes from May 2014 Workshop

The workshop in May was attended by the majority of team managers in Children’s Social Care to discuss best practice in responding to complaints and the need to respond promptly – complying with statutory timescales.

The first part of the workshop involved a presentation on

the reasons why complaints are made,

the opportunities this gives to engage with families

respecting peoples’ rights to raise their concerns.

The second part was a briefing on

the three stages of the complaints process and the relevant timescales

the individual team managers’ responsibilities

the importance of making contact with the complainant before responding

How to maintain focus on resolution

There was also an exercise on how to write a comprehensive complaint response.

Since the workshop in May the number of days taken to respond to complaints has fallen from 20 days on average to 17 days. Whilst this is an improvement there is further work to do and it has been proposed that the complaints manager presents a briefing to individual team meetings so that any new managers who have joined the service since May are made aware of their responsibilities in responding to complaints.

In the meantime the briefing from the workshop in May has been sent round to managers so those who are new or did not attend the workshop in May 2014 are aware of their complaint handling responsibilities and can raise any questions direct with their managers or the complaints service.

6. IMPLICATIONS

Implications arise for the continuous improvement of children’s social care servicesand the annual performance assessment whereby it will be demonstrated thatcomplaints are received and responded to in accordance with the statutory processand lessons learnt from complaints are fed into service improvements

7. EXPECTED OUTCOMES

It is expected that the panel will consider this report and the potential for further areas of scrutiny.

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Agenda Item No. 7


Report of the Executive Director of Children’s ServicesContact Officer(s) – Lou Williams

Contact Details - 864139

REVIEW OF PLACEMENT STRATEGY FOR CHILDREN LOOKED AFTER AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOSTERING ACTION PLAN1. PURPOSE

1.1. This report provides Scrutiny with an update in relation to Children in Care placements and progress relating to the Fostering Action Plan.

1.2. It focuses on progress made in bringing the mix of placements for children in care in Peterborough closer in line with national averages through the recruitment and retention of in-house foster carers. It also details actions that we are taking to help to ensure that we only look after the right children, at the right time in their lives, and for the shortest possible period, in line with best practice.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1. The Committee is asked to note the contents of the report and particularly the continuing indications of success in the recruitment and retention of in-house foster carers for children and young people who are looked after in Peterborough.


3.1. Creating Opportunities - Tackling Opportunities

Supporting vulnerable people

4. BACKGROUND

4.1. This report updates Members on progress made over the last 12 months in increasing the number of children and young people in care in Peterborough who are placed with our own foster carers as opposed to foster carers provided by independent fostering agencies.

4.2. The report also considers other indicators of performance including maintaining low proportion of children and young people who are placed in residential placements and in relation to the stability of placements.

4.3. The report also provides information on a new approach to the way in which we propose to reward our in-house foster carers, which we believe will place us in a stronger position in competing for carers with independent fostering agencies.

Context

4.4. Most children and young people achieve the best lifelong outcomes by being cared for within their families. All families experience short term crises from time to time. In most circumstances, families are able to call on their own extended family or friendship networks to support them through such crises without the need for any other external support.

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4.5. Not all families have access to informal support mechanisms, however, making it more difficult for them to manage the sort of challenges experienced by us all. In addition, some groups of families – those with a child with a complex disability for example – may have considerable support from their family and friendship networks, but still need this to be supplemented if the family is to not come under significant pressures.

4.6. A small group of children are unable to be safely cared for within their families without an intensive programme of assessment and support. A smaller group still cannot remain with their families at all because the risks to them are too great.

4.7. Where children do have to move from their birth families, it is better that they do so at as early an age as possible. This is so they can make secure attachments to their new permanent carers, who are either adopting them or who have applied for a Special Guardianship Order or Residence Order. In some cases, children can be placed permanently with relatives, ensuring that they maintain a link with their birth families.

4.8. Children who are adopted or placed permanently on a Special Guardianship or Residence Order from an early age the children are likely to achieve the best lifelong outcomes of any who come into the care system.

4.9. Our aim has therefore been to offer families with older children intensive and flexible support services so that they can address challenges they are facing without the need for their children to come into care, while ensuring that where families have very young children, we do not delay decision making either before they come into care or for the time that they are in care.

4.10. Not only is such practice the best way of securing positive outcomes for children and young people who come into the care system or who are on the edge of doing so, but it also leads to a better use of resources.

4.11. We have also decided, subject to Cabinet agreement, to explore the development of a contributions policy for children and young people who are looked after. The Children Act 1989 places a duty on Councils to consider whether a contributions policy should be implemented. In the very great majority of cases, parents would not be required to contribute towards the costs of the Council looking after their children as any contributions are subject to an assessment of financial means. However, we do believe that adopting such a policy would send an important message about parental responsibility and, in those cases where families have the financial means to make other arrangements that avoid their children coming into the care system, the existence of a contributions policy may encourage them to make different decisions.

Overall Numbers of Children and Young People Looked After

4.12. The overall number of children and young people looked as of the end of October 2014 was approximately 370 [the number is always approximate as it fluctuates slightly on a daily basis as children enter and leave the care system]. Numbers of children and young people looked after in Peterborough have increased gradually since 2012, peaking at 385 in May 2014 and declining slowly since then. The current figure – 370 – a slight increase from the approximately 360 who were looked after in November 2013, when the last of these reports was prepared for scrutiny.

4.13. While we continue to take every step to avoid children and young people becoming looked after and would wish to see this number reduce, we also know that Peterborough has one of the fastest growing child population in the UK, and a particularly high birth rate. It would generally be the case that an increasing child population would lead to a higher number of children becoming looked after.

4.14. The most common way of expressing numbers of children and young people looked after is the rate per 10,000 population of children and young people. This enables comparisons

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to be drawn with national and other authority trends and performance. The chart below compares the rate of children looked after in Peterborough with the average of our statistical neighbours and the England average over the last five years, up to and including the year 2012/13:

2009 2010 2011 2012 20130.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

Peterborough SN Neighbour Average England Average

Rate of Children Looked After per 10,000Population 0-18

4.15. The chart above shows that there has been an increasing number of children and young people coming into the care system among our statistical neighbours as well as nationally between 2012 and 2013.

4.16. The chart also illustrates how having too few children and young people in the care system may be an indication that children and young people are not being adequately safeguarded. The rate in Peterborough in 2010 and 2011 was much lower than years previously or since, coinciding with the period when OFTSED assessed safeguarding arrangements in the City to be inadequate.

4.17. Unfortunately national data on the rate of children looked after as of March 2014 is unlikely to be published much before January 2015. However, we have obtained data from local authorities in the Eastern Region for their position in April 2014: i

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Bedfor

d Boro

ugh

Cambri

dgesh

ire

Centra

l Bed

fordsh

ireEsse

x

Hertfor

dshire

Luton

Peterbo

rough

Southe

nd on

Sea

Suffolk

Thurro

ck

Averag

e0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2012/13 2013/14

Rate of Looked After Children: Eastern Region 2012/13 & 2013/14

4.18. The above chart shows that with the exception of Essex and Suffolk, increasing numbers of children in the care system is a feature across the region. The increase in the rate of children and young people in care per 10,000 in Peterborough over this period is in line with the average increase across the region.

4.19. The current rate of children and young people in care per 10,000 in Peterborough is around 82 per 10,000; every additional four to five children coning into the care system increases the rate by 1 per 10,000.

4.20. We continue to do all that we can to ensure that only those children and young people for whom there are no other options become looked after. Where we do look after children and young people, we make sure that we so for the least possible time. We do this in a number of ways:

We commission crisis family support services that aim to prevent family breakdown in families where there are older children and young people. These services are available at times when families are typically under pressure – evenings and weekends for example.

Provision of commissioned and directly provided support services that work with families with younger children, helping them to develop their parenting skills within the home and address the difficulties that they are experiencing so that their children are able to remain safely in their care;

Development of a highly responsive and flexible range of support services for families who have children with complex disabilities, enabling this group of children to remain being cared for within their own families for as long as is possible and in line with what families and children with disabilities tell us that they want;

An adoption tracking process that ensures that young children who come into care and for whom a safe return home to family or extended family is not possible are placed for adoption as quickly as legally possible;

A fortnightly performance meeting that oversees progress for all children and young people who are looked after;

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Oversight of high cost resources through the Peterborough Access to Support Panels, chaired by the Acting Assistant Director, Commissioning.

4.21. Despite these approaches, pressures on the system remain significant and we continue to explore new approaches and partnerships to help us meet needs of children and young people which prevent them from becoming looked after. An example is a new partnership with Axiom Housing to develop more capacity to respond to the needs of potentially homeless young people aged 16 and 17 who might otherwise become looked after

Recruitment and Retention of in-house Foster Carers

4.22. Where children and young people do need to come into care, it makes sense for a number of reasons that they are placed with our own foster carers, as opposed to carers provided by independent fostering agencies. There are a number of reasons for this, including:

Our own carers are much more likely to be local and living in or close to the City, making it easier for children to retain school places, have contact with their families and maintain peer relationships;

We get to know our own foster carers really well, making it easier for us to match the needs of children coming into care with the foster carers available;

Using our own carers is a better use of financial resources as unit costs are lower because we do not have to pay fees to the agency.

4.23. Recruiting our own foster carers therefore remains a high priority for the service. Foster care recruitment is an area where constant activity is required simply to maintain the status quo as a number of carers will always leave fostering during any one year. Often, foster carers cease fostering for the very best reasons in relation to individual children; for example a number of carers stop fostering for Peterborough every year because they have decided to adopt children who have been placed with them. This is a great result for the individual children concerned but still results in a reduction in foster placements available to the City.

4.24. The impact of new legislation allowing young people to ‘stay put’ with their former foster carers beyond the age of 18 is also having an increasing impact on the availability of fostering placements. The Children and Families Act 2014 increased the eligibility for young people to access Staying Put schemes so that any young person who has been looked after for at least 13 weeks in the run up to their 18th birthday and who wants to remain with their foster carers can now do so for up to three years, providing that their carers agree. Under previous guidance, these arrangements were in most cases only available for up to a year. This has a financial impact on local authorities since such arrangements must be funded as well as an impact on placements available because foster carers run out of bedroom space for fostered children when young people have opted to stay put.

4.25. These changes are very positive for young people concerned and recognise that most young people would not leave their family homes at the age of 18. However, the scheme is having and will continue to have a significant impact on availability of foster placements for children coming into the care system.

4.26. Recruitment of foster carers is an activity that takes place in a highly competitive market. There are a number of large fostering agencies that are well-established within the Peterborough area. These agencies have access to significant financial backing, and have developed expertise in the recruitment, training and assessment of foster carers. Over recent years across the country, Agencies have been steadily increasing their share of looked after children placements, as shown by the chart below:

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2009 2010 2011 2012 20130

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

% In-house Foster Placements % Agency Foster Placements % Connected Persons

Proportions of Children & Young People in Foster Placements:England Averages

4.27. The above illustrates the challenge on a national level of recruiting and retaining in-house foster placements in the face of a concerted effort to increase market share by fostering agencies. Agency foster placements are typically around three times the cost of in-house placements so even small changes in overall proportions can have significant impact on placement budgets.

4.28. However, owing to a concerted recruitment campaign in the City, we are achieving net increases in the number of fostering households year on year. In the financial year 2013-14, a total of 39 new in-house fostering households were recruited, while 7 fostering households ceased to foster over the same period, resulting in a net gain of 32 households, 27 of which were mainstream carers and 5 were connected carers. Connected carers are carers approved to look after specific children; these will be children who are well known to them and who are usually related. This is a significant increase on the previous financial year, where a net gain of 10 fostering households was achieved.

4.29. The target for recruitment in the two years to April 2016 is for a net increase in mainstream foster carers of 50. So far this financial year there has been a net increase of 4 mainstream carers, which may appear disappointing. However, this reflects two factors; in the first part of the year attention was given to removing inactive foster carers from the service by mutual agreement, which has an impact on the net gain to date. There was also an extraordinary push to get the maximum number of carers approved by the end of the last financial year, affecting performance in the initial part of the current financial year.

4.30. There are also currently just over 20 fostering households in the process of assessment, meaning that the service should be close to achieving a net gain of 25 carers this financial year.

4.31. As stated above, the fostering recruitment market is a very competitive one, and we are currently consulting on a new approach to rewarding our carers, which we believe will be a useful tool in recruitment. This new approach is briefly described in the next section.

Foster Care Rewards: A new Approach

4.32. In-house foster carers receive a lower weekly allowance than agency foster carers. Independent fostering agencies know we can never compete on fees directly because increasing fees to our carers by a relatively small amount costs large amounts of money,

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owing to the number of carers we have. Agencies also know that they can increase the fees they offer to their carers in response to any increase we make, maintaining their recruitment advantage. Because their margins are high, they can do this without increasing fees to local authorities – at least until their competitive advantage is restored.

4.33. Rates of allowances are only one factor in the successful recruitment of carers. Foster carers come into fostering because they want to make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children and young people. Carers who are recruited by agencies are much less likely to have placements as agencies typically operate at 50% vacancy levels. Agency foster carers will also have children from all over the country placed with them, with additional difficulties in communication with social workers and in maintaining links with the child’s family and friends.

4.34. Among our own looked after population, it is older children and young people and those who have had a number of previous placement moves who tend to be placed with agency foster carers. This is not because those carers are any more skilled than our own. It is because while our carers know that if they decline a placement of a more challenging child or young person they will be offered another placement very soon after. Agency carers know that if they are contacted about a placement, it will always be likely to be a child or young person who presents as more challenging to care for, and that if they decline, they may not be contacted again for a considerable period.

4.35. We are therefore developing a payment by results model that provides incentive payments to carers who look after older children and young people and children and young people who have had more placement moves. Other incentives can be offered where we are asking carers to go above and beyond what they might usually do in order to meet the objectives of the child or young person’s care plan.

4.36. We believe that this approach will provide us with a significant edge in our recruitment activities while enabling us to reward our carers for doing what they want to do – achieving the best outcomes for children and young people placed with them. We are currently consulting with our carers over the finer details of the scheme and expect to be ready to launch early in the coming months

Placement Mix Performance 2012-15:

4.37. We are seeing steady positive changes in the placement mix of the looked after population in Peterborough. The proportion of our children and young people placed with in-house foster placements is increasing while the proportion placed with Agency Fostering is declining:

Placement Type

PeterboroughNov 2012 %

Peterborough Nov 2013 %

Peterborough Nov 2014 %

National Average 2013

In House fostering 35% 38% 39% 40%

Agency Fostering 38% 33% 32% 24%

Connected 6% 9% 9% 11%

Residential including secure, secure remands & residential schools 10% 9% 7% 12%

Semi- Independent Living 5% 4% 6.5% 3%

Placed for Adoption 5% 4% 5% 5%

Placement with Parents 2% 2% 2% 5%

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4.38. We have continued to maintain a much lower proportion of children and young people in residential placements than is the case nationally. To some extent this explains our continuing reliance on agency foster placements, which although reducing, remains higher than the national average. We seek to avoid residential placements wherever we can because this type of placement is typically associated with some of the poorest outcomes. These placements are also the most expensive.

4.39. We also ensure that whenever possible, young people move to semi-independent accommodation from residential placements soon after they have completed statutory schooling. Semi-independent placements are much better at helping them to prepare for independence at 18 than children’s homes. Often the initial cost of semi-independent accommodation can be almost as high as residential placements as many young people need intensive and bespoke packages of support. However, because this type of provision is very flexible, the amount of support can reduce as the young person becomes more independent, which also reduces the cost.

Other Performance Measures:

4.40. Peterborough continues to perform very well in comparison with our statistical neighbours and national averages when it comes to the stability of placements for children and young people in care. This is important as unplanned moves can result in significant disruption to the lives of the children and young people concerned, many of whom also experience these events as rejections that impact on their emotional resilience.

4.41. The chart below shows the age distribution among children and young people looked after in Peterborough compared with the most recent data for England as a whole:

Under 1 1-4 5-9 10-15 16-170.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

Peterborough July 2014 National, 2013

Ages of Children Looked After - Peterborough and National

4.42. Although the actual numbers involved are very small, there are slightly more older children and young people in care in Peterborough than in England and slightly fewer young children aged between 1 and 4. Two fewer young people aged 16 and 17 who are looked after in Peterborough would bring us into line with national averages, for example, while if we had 133 young people looked after aged between 10 and 15 instead of the 137 we actually have, we would be in line with the national position.

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4.43. That said, we do need to understand better the journeys of those older children and young people aged 10 and above and whether there are any common themes that may have avoided them becoming looked after which we can apply in future. This is a piece of work that will take place in the coming months.

Increasing Diversity of our Child Looked After Population

4.44. Given that the population of Peterborough is becoming increasingly diverse, it is not surprising that the child and young person in care population is reflecting this.

4.45. The following chart shows how the looked after population in Peterborough compares with the national average looked after population and with estimates of the make-up of the population of Peterborough children and young people aged 0-18 by the Office of National Statistics:

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

White British

White Other

Dual/Multiple Heritage

Asian/AsianBritish/Asian Other

BlackAfrican/Caribbean/British

England LAC Average 2013 ONS Estimate 0-18: Peterborough Oct-14 Jul-14 Jan-14 Aug-13

LAC Population Peterborough Compared with England Average and ONSestimates of local 0-18 Population 2013 - 2014

4.46. The chart shows that white British children and young people are slightly over-represented in the care system in Peterborough compared with ONS estimates of the local population. The chart also shows that this group is a slowly increasing proportion of the overall looked after population. The proportion of Black African/Caribbean/British looked after population has increased slightly and is now higher than ONS estimates of the general population. This increase can, however, be attributed to a small number of unaccompanied asylum seeking young people who have arrived into Peterborough in the last few months.

4.47. Children and young people from Asian backgrounds are underrepresented in the care population compared with the population of children and young people from these backgrounds in the City, and are also slightly underrepresented when compared to the England average for looked after children. This may indicate that families from these communities are more able to respond to difficulties facing them by, for example, calling on support from extended families and the broader community. It may also be the case that services are less able to identify children and young people at risk of significant harm from these communities. However, just under 10% of children and young people subject to child protection plans in the City are from Asian backgrounds, which is closer to the

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percentage of the population. This would suggest that agencies are able to identify children who are at risk of harm within these communities.

4.48. Children from dual and multiple heritages are over-represented in the looked after system when compared to ONS estimates of local population. This is also the position within the England looked after population as a whole, where a similar proportion of children and young people looked after are from dual and multiple heritages. The chart below provides further details about this group of children and young people:

White and BlackCaribbean

White and Black African White and Asian Any other dual/multipleheritage

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Aug-13 Jan-14 Jul-14

Numbers of children of dual and multiple heritages who are looked after

4.49. The proportion of ‘White Other’ children and young people looked after in Peterborough currently stands at 12%, which is slightly higher than the proportion of children and young people from ‘white other’ backgrounds in the City. This category includes children and young people from Portuguese and Italian backgrounds as well as those from Central and Eastern Europe. The chart below breaks this category down further into the number of children and young people looked after by nationality that together make up the ‘white other’ category and shows how these have changed over the last 18 months:

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Albania Czech Latvia Lithuania Poland Portugal Slovakia0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Aug-13 Jan-14 Jul-14 Oct-14

Numbers of Looked After Children by Nationalities 'White Other'Category

4.50. The overall proportion of children from ‘white other’ backgrounds is also higher among younger children in the care system, as the following chart indicates:

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

White British

White Other

Dual/Multiple Heritage

Asian/AsianBritish/Asian Other

BlackAfrican/Caribbean/British

ONS Estimate Oct-14

Children aged 0-4 Looked After in Peterborough compared with ONSEstimate of local 0-4 Population

4.51. 18% of children in care aged between 0 and 4 years are from ‘white other’ backgrounds. All of these children are from Eastern or Central Europe. The largest group of ‘white other’ children among the 0-4 population in care is again from Lithuania.

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4.52. There is clearly work to be done to understand more about why children from dual or multiple heritages are overrepresented among the overall child in care population. However, this is a position that is reflected nationally, whereas the increasing proportion of children in the local care system from Eastern European backgrounds is an issue that is more specific to Peterborough.

4.53. There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that vulnerable people from Lithuania in particular are being trafficked into the region by exploiters and used to supply cheap labour through a network of illegal gang-masters. The police and other partners locally are developing an increasingly robust response to these activities including providing advice on new legislation relating to modern slavery. This growing population of children coming into care from central and eastern European backgrounds may also be a symptom of this much larger problem.

4.54. However, for services locally this increasing proportion of children coming into care from these backgrounds is leading to significant challenges. The children concerned require immediate safeguarding and protection. However we do not at the moment have foster carers who speak the child’s first language. Many of the younger children we bring into care do not speak English. This must only add to the sense of confusion and anxiety that many children experience when they first come into care.

4.55. We are therefore committed to working with the community and voluntary sector to identify how we can better support children and families who are newly arrived into the UK while also developing links with those members of the same communities who are becoming more settled and who may be able to become foster carers for the Council. This will enable children and young people from these communities who do need to come into care to be placed with families with similar cultural histories, practices and approaches to life.

4.56. The latter point is a particular challenge when it comes to recruiting carers from communities who are newly arrived into the country. Foster carers in general are often parents who have older or grown up children; they have become established in the community and are looking for new challenges. They are therefore usually from a slightly more mature group than the population as a whole. This more mature group has yet to form among those communities who are newly arrived in the country simply because they have not yet been here for long enough.

5. KEY ISSUES5.1. Key issues arising from the above include:

Although national comparator data is not yet available, other information would seem to suggest that the overall numbers of children and young people in care in Peterborough reflect the national and regional positon;

The proportion of the children and young people in care who are placed with our own in-house foster carers continues to increase and is now close to the national average;

The proportion of children and young people placed in Agency foster placements has reduced significantly, although remains above the national average;

We have achieved considerable reductions in the proportion of children and young people placed in residential placements and our performance is now significantly better than national average performance in this area;

These changes have been achieved while maintaining best child-care practice and not considering placement moves for children and young people who are settled in their placements;

Progress in relation to the recruitment and retention of foster carers has been strong, and the stretch target of 50 additional mainstream foster carers by April 2016 remains within reach. Achieving this target would be an exceptional performance;

It is clear that we are seeing an increase in numbers of children and young people from Eastern and Central European backgrounds entering the care system locally. This

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may be a symptom of a much bigger problem relating to organised exploitation, however, for those children and young people who require immediate action to safeguard their wellbeing, our ability to provide them with culturally similar placements is currently minimal.

5.2. Significant progress has therefore been made in relation to managing overall numbers of children and young people within the looked after system in the City, while bringing the placement mix more into line with national averages through the recruitment of more foster carers over the last 12 months.

5.3. We continue to innovate and our proposals relating to payment by results systems for rewarding in-house foster carers is the latest approach in the on-going battle to recruit and retain our won foster carers in the face of stiff and concerted competition from fostering agencies locally.

5.4. While our ambition is to see overall numbers of children and young people in care in the City reducing by continuing to improve outcomes across early help and specialist services, pressures on the system remains significant and the projected increase in child population in the City is likely to increase the pressure on overall numbers of children and young people in care in future years.

6. IMPLICATIONS6.1. The continuing financial targets in relation to the costs of children’s placements are

stretching and are built on assumptions that we will continue to be successful in placing a greater proportion of our children and young people with in-house foster carers. Placements with our own carers are also more likely to be in the interests of the child or young person concerned because they are more likely to be closer to the City, meaning less disruption to their lives. However, the current proportion of our children and young people in care placed with our own foster carers is already close to national averages, emphasising that success in this area is by no means a foregone conclusion.

6.2. However, innovations such as the model of payment by results should help us to continue to compete effectively with the independent fostering agencies active locally.

6.3. The continuing fast growing child population in the City will also lead to on-going pressure on the looked after system. All other things being equal, a higher population of children and young people will result in more children and young people coming into care.

6.4. The increasing diversity of our care population – particularly as this relates to children and young people from Central and Eastern Europe – means that we must do all we can to work alongside these communities and community and voluntary sector organisations to ensure that they have access to support that prevents their children from becoming looked after.

6.5. We must also do more to recruit foster carers from these communities, while recognising that this will be a challenge on many levels. The latest fostering recruitment strategy is targeted at our black and minority ethnic populations and will be closely scrutinised in order to assess how successful it is in attracting carers from these backgrounds.

6.6. The implications of this report relate to the City as a whole as opposed to any individual wards.

7. CONSULTATION

7.1. Consultation has taken place with the Children’s Services Directorate Management Team and with the Fostering Service.

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8. NEXT STEPS

8.1. The new approach to rewarding foster carers through a payments by results model will be in place in time for the next financial year.

8.2. A Cabinet report outlining proposals for a contributions policy for children looked after will be produced for consultation in the coming months.

8.3. It is suggested that an updated report on the continuing efforts to recruit in-house foster carers and the continuing implementation of the Placement Strategy is prepared for Scrutiny in January 2016.

9. BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS

Used to prepare this report, in accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985:

9.1. National Data on the numbers of children and young people in the care system can be obtained from the Office of National Statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption

10. APPENDICES

10.1. None.

i Norfolk was unable to provide data for this exercise

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https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES & TACKLING INEQUALITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Agenda Item No. 8


Report of the Executive Director of Children’s Services

Contact Officer(s) – Sue Westcott Contact Details - 863606

DIRECTOR’S REPORT FOR SOCIAL CARE PRACTICE AND PERFORMANCE

1. PURPOSE

1.1 The purpose of this report is to continue to update the committee on sustained performance in Children’s Social Care.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1 To note the progress made to achieve an OfSTED rating of good/outstanding.


3.1 The Sustainable Community Strategy identifies “Improving Health” and “Supporting Vulnerable People” as priorities. A quality Children’s Social Care service is key to delivering the right support for vulnerable children and families.

4. BACKGROUND

4.1 Following an Ofsted Inspection in August 2011, the Council has engaged in a programme to secure rapid improvement. This improvement will be driven by three key elements:

Self Assessment document (for use with OfSTED) The Children’s Services Single Delivery Plan The Ofsted Action Plan which focuses effort on what we must prioritise The leadership of Members and officers in delivering the required changes

4.2 The Council’s progress is closely monitored by this Committee and the Internal Improvement Board.

5.

5.1

KEY ISSUES

Highlights (as of October 2014)

Continued increase in early intervention assessments (CAFs) (38.1%) - higher than target

Slightly below target for number of referrals (4.2% below target). Still higher than the English result but not our statistical neighbour rate (576.4 per 10,000 as opposed to 634.9 stat neighbour)

Conversion rate from contact to referral 20% lower than same time two years ago (no comparable data kept)

Majority of referrals had a single assessment completed (248 from 254) Re-referral rate lower than statistical neighbours and English authorities indicating

referrals being worked thoroughly Majority of single assessments in timescale (88.8%) Continuing high number of Child Protection enquiries: 76, of which only 52.6% had the

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5.2

5.3

5.4

outcome of an Initial Child Protection Conference High number or children subject to a Child Protection Plan (30.4% above target) Drop in Child Protection Reviews in timescale (Serco) Continued increase in Looked After Children (383)

Early Intervention Assessments (CAFs)

79 early intervention assessments were opened in October which is higher than the previous month and notably higher than the same time last year (40 in October 2013). The rate per 10,000 at 204.2 is 38.1% higher than the target.

Number of Contacts

October data shows 870 contacts coming in to the service of which 201 went on to referral. This is a conversion rate of 23.1% which is lower than the same time last year (31.6% in October 2013).

Number of Referrals

There were 201 referrals in October which is lower than the previous month (254 in September). The rolling 12 month rate per 10,000 has increased to 576.4 which is just 4.2% below target.

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5.5

5.6

5.7

Single Assessments

There were 251 single assessments completed during October. There is no comparable data to measure this by although 231 were completed in September.

Single Assessments Timescales

88.8% of single assessments completed up to the end of October have been in timescale. Staff sickness, jury leave, compassionate leave and maternity leave (10.5 posts) has impacted upon this including new staff commencing.

Exception reporting:

There were 39 single assessments not completed within 35 days which relate to 26 families. From a dip sample of 18 cases, 1 case was delayed due to unavailability of the child / family. In all other cases sampled a number of social work visits had been completed and information gathered from partner agencies within the 35 day assessment timescale. However the actual assessment had not been written up until after this timescale. In the majority of these cases plans and support were actioned prior to the written completion of the assessments. 7 cases were already open Child in Need cases, Looked After, or subject to Child Protection plans, and within the 35 day assessment period, ongoing work took place under those processes.

Section 47 Enquiries

The number of child protection enquiries completed during October, was 76 and 40 of them (52.6%) had the outcome of an initial child protection conference selected on the form. The year to date figure is 46.3% which is higher than at the same time last year (26.5% in October 2013).

Although this is higher than the English average at 47.3%, it is comparable to our statistical neighbours at 52.3%.

We are working with the police to reduce the amount of joint agency enquiries.

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5.8

5.9

5.10

Child Protection Conferences

Only just over half of child protection enquiries resulted in in a child protection conference in October. The number of children becoming subject to a child protection plan is 37 for October, an increase of 7 from the previous month, but 4 below the number in August 2014.

The rolling 12 month rate per 10,000 at 80.7 is 51.1% above the target and much higher than the English average of 46.2% and our statistical neighbour average of 54.3% per 10,000 of the population.

The reasons for this are many: the increasing complexity of cases, changes of worker, multi-agency confidence in child protection meetings and lack of confidence in Children in Need procedures, and the high number of cases of unborn babies at risk, domestic violence and substance abuse.

Number of Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan

The number of children presented to Conference over this reporting period continues to be high. The main category children have been registered by is neglect. There has been a recent workshop to look at Child Protection thresholds and further work is planned to reduce the numbers by continuing to strengthen the Child In Need process.

Child Protection Conference Timescales

All children subject to a Child Protection plan have been reviewed within timescales. The data is showing that there have been late reviews as a result of the Conference process within Liquidlogic not being able to be finalised due to Child Protection minutes not being uploaded. This has been caused by a backlog, which, as at 3 December, has been cleared. The data should reflect this moving forward.

Child Protection Visits in Timescale

52

5.11

5.12

5.13

5.14

5.15

93.1% of children with a child protection plan received a statutory visit within timescale. This is an improvement from last month.

Number of Looked After Children

At the end of October, 383 children were looked after: a net increase of 4 compared to the previous month (379 in September).

The number of looked after children remains relatively high in relation to the previous two years and is currently equivalent to a rate of 85.1 per 10,000, compared to 79.0 for our statistical neighbours and 60.0 for the English average.

Number of Children ceasing to be Looked After

The number of Looked After Children has gone up because fewer children are being discharged from care because of their age. 7 children ceased to be Looked After during October. This is below the target level. The rolling 12 month rate per 10,000 at 31.6 remains lower than the target of 38.0. To meet the target, an average of 14 children would need to cease to be Looked After per month.

Looked After Children Reviews

There have been no out of date Looked After Children reviews.

Update on First Response/MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub)

The First Response Screening team came into effect on 27th October 2014. This team consists of 1 team manager, 2 social workers and 1 support worker, with plans for a further support worker to join the team In December. The team is complimented by the 4 Child Sexual Exploitation workers.

Further discussion has taken place with regard to how the CAF coordinators supplement the work of this team in order to assist in triaging referrals and actively facilitate the setting up of CAFs when cases do not meet the threshold for Children’s Services, but early coordinated help is warranted. From 1st December 2014, a CAF coordinator will be situated with the screening team for half a day every day.

The Missing from Home worker from the NEET team, has been based in the screening team for three mornings a week from 24th November 2014.

The job description of the joint funded health post has been agreed and is currently in job evaluation, following which, it can be advertised.

Links are established with the police Missing and CSE teams, but attempts to situate the team in the same room as the screening team have not been successful due to difficulties for the police in accessing their data base. It is planned for this technical issue to be resolved and for the Missing

53

5.16

and CSE police officers to be based in the team before the end of December.

It was anticipated that a part time post from Women’s Aid would be based in the team from November, however this has not happened. A decision with regard to the funding bid for a worker to be based in the screening team is to be made in December.

The MASH Project Board continues to meet and further work is needed to take forward plans to further develop links with adult services, housing, drug and alcohol services, and integrated offender management services. A meeting is arranged for the Head of Service and Team Manager to meet probation on 17th December 2014, to discuss furthering links with probation.

Workforce

The advertisement for our new Assistant Director has been successful, bringing forth three candidates, all of whom have been interviewed. The existing interim Assistant Director withdrew from the application process for personal reasons. One candidate will be placed before the Employment Committee on 4 December.

3 permanent Team Managers have been recruited to fill all of the vacancies within First Response. Necessary safer recruitment checks are in the process of being finalised with a view to starting posts in early 2015. This also means that the 3 interim Team Managers currently occupying posts will be given notice to leave; this will reduce agency costs as a result.

1 Social Worker has been appointed to a permanent post within Looked after Children. The candidate has accepted the role and safer recruitment checks will now be carried out. As a result of this appointment 1 agency Social Worker will be released from post.

The final NQSW has started in post within the Leaving Care Service. This also means that the agency Social Worker covering this post has left the service.

Raising Quality of Practice / Achieving Outstanding

During November and December 2014, an exercise is underway to ensure that all Court reports

54

5.17

5.18

5.19

5.20

are robust and are submitted in a timely fashion so that Courts can make timely and informed decisions about children’s futures. The objectives of this exercise is to:

To improve quality of Court reports and statements, including viability and regulation 24 reports

To improve timeliness of Court reporting To improve preparation for and attendance at Advocates meetings and Court

Hearings

Regular meetings are taking place between the Assistant Director and the Senior Lawyer to review the progress of this exercise.

Children in Need

Our work with minority communities is becoming very time consuming with interpreters, different cultural norms and with a high prevalence of domestic violence.

An exercise is underway to improve the way in which Child in Need cases are brought to closure. All Child in Need cases which are over 9 months old from the point of referral and which have not recently de-escalated from Child Protection or have any other statutory requirement upon them, for example, Supervision Orders, are under review. The Principal Social Worker is supporting social workers to use the Risk and Safety tool to determine how safe it is to close or de-escalate cases and to assert at Child in Need reviews, case closure or step down recommendations.

It is currently estimated that in excess of 80 cases will close, due to this review, by the end of December 2014.

Additionally a Peterborough Safeguarding Children Board multi-agency task and finish group is currently reviewing the Children in Need process and how we can strengthen partnership working.

Unannounced Inspection Audit

We will be commencing an unannounced audit of Child Protection and Looked After Children against the Ofsted framework in December 2014/January 2015.

Early Intervention Activity

Early Intervention Assessments (CAFs)

The number of professionals engaging in the CAF agenda continues to increase with almost 400 practitioners now trained in eCAF with a further 40 booked onto courses up to the end of December.

The autumn Term CAF forum held at the Fleet Community Centre was well attended and included presentations on Domestic Abuse from the Police, Adult Drug support from Aspire, the Restorative Justice Programme from YOS as well as an update on the SEND reforms.

Early Years

To support the development of Early Literacy the Early Years Team arranged an Early Literacy Event. Approximately 11 pre-schools and nurseries, 115 children and 70 parents attended the Early Years Literacy Event in Central Park on Wednesday 15th October 2014. This event was based on research which has demonstrated the impact of working with families when children are very young to support effective early literacy development.

Early Support for children who are disabled or have complex additional needs

55

A clear pathway for early support has been developed which aims to improve the delivery of services for children who are disabled or who have complex additional needs.

It promotes:

Partnerships with parents, who are at the heart of decision making about their child Services working together Flexible key working which provides a single point of contact for families and professionals The provision of accurate up to date information in a format that is relevant to the

family

Emotional Health and wellbeing

As part of a comprehensive training programme we have commissioned a range of training aimed at up-skilling professionals which has included staff in schools. The programme has been designed to assist professionals develop the skills, knowledge and understanding to be better able to support children, families and young people, where substance misuse and linked emotional wellbeing may be an identified difficulty. The training commenced in September and has received very good feedback from professionals.

6. IMPLICATIONS

6.1 Sustained improvement.

7. CONSULTATION

7.1 Partner agencies, parents and children are well engaged in all the social care activity.

8. NEXT STEPS

8.1 This Committee will continue to receive a regular update on progress.


9.1 Ofsted Inspection of Safeguarding: Peterborough 6th September 2011 Ofsted Unannounced Inspection of contact referral and assessment arrangements 3rd March

2011 Ofsted Safeguarding and Looked after Children Inspection: Peterborough 21st May 2010 Ofsted Local Authority Arrangements for the Protection of Children: inspection report 8 March

2013

10. APPENDICES

10.1 None

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CREATING OPPORUTNITIES AND TACKLING INEQUALITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Agenda Item No. 9


Report of the Director of Governance

Report Author – Paulina Ford, Senior Governance Officer, ScrutinyContact Details – 01733 452508 or email [email protected]

FORWARD PLAN OF EXECUTIVE DECISIONS

1. PURPOSE

1.1 This is a regular report to the Creating Opportunities and Tackling Inequalities Scrutiny Committee outlining the content of the Forward Plan of Executive Decisions.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

2.1 That the Committee identifies any relevant items for inclusion within their work programme.

3. BACKGROUND

3.1 The latest version of the Forward Plan of Executive Decisions is attached at Appendix 1. The Plan contains those Executive decisions, which the Leader of the Council believes that the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Member(s) can take and any new Executive decisions to be taken after 9 January 2015.

3.2 The information in the Forward Plan of Executive Decisions provides the Committee with the opportunity of considering whether it wishes to seek to influence any of these Executive decisions, or to request further information.

3.3 If the Committee wished to examine any of the Executive decisions, consideration would need to be given as to how this could be accommodated within the work programme.

3.4 As the Forward Plan is published fortnightly any version of the Forward Plan published after dispatch of this agenda will be tabled at the meeting.

4. CONSULTATION

4.1 Details of any consultation on individual decisions are contained within the Forward Plan of Executive Decisions.


None

6. APPENDICES

Appendix 1 – Forward Plan of Executive Decisions

57


PETERBOROUGH CITY COUNCIL’S FORWARD PLAN OF EXECUTIVE DECISIONS

PUBLISHED: 12 DECEMBER 2014

59

FORWARD PLAN ABPART 1 – KEY DECISIONSIn the period commencing 28 days after the date of publication of this Plan, Peterborough City Council's Executive intends to take 'key decisions' on the issues set out below in Part 1. Key decisions relate to those executive decisions which are likely to result in the Council spending or saving money in excess of £500,000 and/or have a significant impact on two or more wards in Peterborough.

If the decision is to be taken by an individual Cabinet Member, the name of the Cabinet Member is shown against the decision, in addition to details of the Councillor’s portfolio. If the decision is to be taken by the Cabinet, this too is shown against the decision and its members are as listed below:Cllr Cereste (Leader); Cllr Elsey; Cllr Fitzgerald; Cllr Hiller, Cllr Holdich (Deputy Leader); Cllr North; Cllr Seaton; Cllr Serluca and Cllr Scott.

This Plan should be seen as an outline of the proposed decisions for the forthcoming month and it will be updated on a fortnightly basis to reflect new key-decisions. Each new Plan supersedes the previous Plan and items may be carried over into forthcoming Plans. Any questions on specific issues included on the Plan should be included on the form which appears at the back of the Plan and submitted to Gemma George, Senior Governance Officer, Chief Executive’s Department, Town Hall, Bridge Street, PE1 1HG (fax 08702 388039). Alternatively, you can submit your views via e-mail to [email protected] or by telephone on 01733 452268.

PART 2 – NOTICE OF INTENTION TO TAKE DECISION IN PRIVATEWhilst the majority of the Executive’s business at the Cabinet meetings listed in this Plan will be open to the public and media organisations to attend, there will be some business to be considered that contains, for example, confidential, commercially sensitive or personal information. In these circumstances the meeting may be held in private, and on the rare occasion this applies, notice will be given within Part 2 of this document, ‘notice of intention to hold meeting in private’. A further formal notice of the intention to hold the meeting, or part of it, in private, will also be given 28 clear days in advance of any private meeting in accordance with The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Council invites members of the public to attend any of the meetings at which these decisions will be discussed (unless a notice of intention to hold the meeting in private has been given).

PART 3 – NOTIFICATION OF NON-KEY DECISIONSFor complete transparency relating to the work of the Executive, this Plan also includes an overview of non-key decisions to be taken by the Cabinet or individual Cabinet Members, these decisions are listed at Part 3 and will be updated on a weekly basis.

You are entitled to view any documents listed on the Plan, or obtain extracts from any documents listed or subsequently submitted to the decision maker prior to the decision being made, subject to any restrictions on disclosure. There is no charge for viewing the documents, although charges may be made for photocopying or postage. Documents listed on the notice and relevant documents subsequently being submitted can be requested from Gemma George, Senior Governance Officer, Chief Executive’s Department, Town Hall, Bridge Street, PE1 1HG (fax 08702 388038), e-mail to [email protected] or by telephone on 01733 452268. For each decision a public report will be available from the Governance Team one week before the decision is taken.

All decisions will be posted on the Council's website: www.peterborough.gov.uk/executivedecisions. If you wish to make comments or representations regarding the 'key decisions' outlined in this Plan, please submit them to the Governance Support Officer using the form attached. For your information, the contact details for the Council's various service departments are incorporated within this Plan.

60

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/executivedecisions

PART 1 – FORWARD PLAN OF KEY DECISIONS

KEY DECISIONS FROM 9 JANUARY 2015KEY DECISION REQUIRED

DECISION MAKER

DATE DECISION EXPECTED

RELEVANT SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

CONSULTATION CONTACT DETAILS / REPORT AUTHORS

DOCUMENTS RELEVANT TO THE DECISION SUBMITTED TO THE DECISION MAKER

Creation of a Peterborough Domestic Energy Supply Tariff – KEY/16JAN15/01Strategic partnership agreement and tariff agreement between and the Council and an energy supply company.

Cabinet 19 January 2015

Sustainable Growth and Environment Capital

Relevant internal and external stakeholders.

Andy CoxProjects and Programme ManagerTel: 01733 [email protected]

It is not anticipated that there will be any documents other than the report and relevant appendices to be published.

The decision will contain an exempt annex for consideration by the Cabinet Member.

Strategic Partnership Between Peterborough City Council and AVIC International Corporation (UK) Ltd – KEY/16JAN15/02To enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding a Strategic Partnership Arrangement between Peterborough City Council and AVIC International Corporation (UK) Ltd. To authorise the Executive Director, Resources to enter into a partnership in support of the creation of a smart city.



Internal only. John HarrisonExecutive Director, ResourcesTel: 01733 [email protected]


61

KEY DECISION REQUIRED

DECISION MAKER





Nene Park Academy – KEY/06JAN15/01Novation of the Design and Build Contract from PCC to Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust (CMAT).

Councillor John HoldichCabinet Member for Education, Skills and University

January 2015

Creating Opportunities and Tackling Inequalities


Brian HowardHead of Schools InfrastructureTel: 01733 [email protected]


Libraries Future Model Proposals – KEY/06JAN15/02For Cabinet to consider the proposed future model and to agree second round of consultation.

Cabinet January 2015

Strong and Supportive


Paul StevenetteProgramme ManagerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Turning Point Extension Contract – KEY/06JAN15/03To approve the supported living contract that permits for another one year extension for 2015/16.

Councillor Wayne FitzgeraldCabinet Member for Adult Social Care

April 2015 Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues


Mubarak DarbarHead of Commissioning Learning DisabilitiesTel: 01733 [email protected]


S75 Learning Disabilities (Renew with CPCCG) – KEY/06JAN15/04To approve the new S75 agreement.


April 2015 Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues




62


DECISION MAKER





Day Opportunities Under 65 Transformation (In House) – KEY/06JAN15/05To approve proposals following consultation.


March 2015 Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues




Day Opportunities Under 65 Tender (Independent) – KEY/06JAN15/06To approve the tender for the services.


August 2015 Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues




West Town Primary School - KEY/06JAN15/07To authorise payment of the Council’s contribution to the rebuild of West Town Primary School under the Priority Schools Building Programme.


January 2015

Strong and Supportive Scrutiny Committee


Alison ChambersPrincipal Assets Officer (Schools)Tel: 01733 863975 [email protected]


Council Tax Support Scheme – KEY/06JAN15/08To recommend the scheme to Council.




Steven PilsworthHead of Strategic FinanceTel: 01733 [email protected]


63


DECISION MAKER





Council Tax and NNDR – KEY/06JAN15/09 To agree the calculation of the Council Tax base for 2015/16.






Medium Term Financial Strategy 2015-2025 (Jan) – KEY/06JAN15/10To release the MTFS including the second tranche of budget proposals for consultation.






Medium Term Financial Strategy 2015-2025 (Feb) – KEY/06JAN15/11To recommend the MTFS including the second tranche of budget proposals to Council.

Cabinet 23 February 2015





Junction 17 – 2, Fletton Parkway Widening, Contamination and Drainage Issues – KEY/06JAN15/12Approval to reassign some funding from existing transport project budgets to the Fletton Parkway Junction 17 to 2 scheme.

Councillor Peter HillerCabinet Member for Planning and Housing Services

January 2015



Mark SpeedTransport Planning Team ManagerTel: 01733 [email protected]


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DECISION MAKER





Peterborough Visitor Economy Strategy 2015-2020 (Draft)To approve the strategy and recommend that Council adopt as a major policy document.




Douglas GyteStrategic Tourism ManagerTel: 01733 [email protected]


PREVIOUSLY ADVERTISED DECISIONSDelivery of the Council's Capital Receipt Programme through the Sale of Dickens Street Car Park - KEY/03JUL/11To authorise the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Solicitor to the Council, Executive Director – Strategic Resources, the Corporate Property Officer and the Cabinet Member Resources, to negotiate and conclude the sale of Dickens Street Car Park. For Cabinet to consider future options for service delivery.

Councillor David SeatonCabinet Member for Resources

January 2015


Consultation will take place with the Cabinet Member, Ward councillors, relevant internal departments & external stakeholders as appropriate.

Richard HodgsonHead of Strategic ProjectsTel: 01733 [email protected]


Sale of Greenwood House - KEY/21MAR14/02Delivery of the Council’s Capital Receipt Programme through the sale of Greenwood House, South Parade.


January 2015



Simon WebberCapital Projects OfficerTel: 01733 [email protected]


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DECISION MAKER





Sale of the Herlington Centre - KEY/21MAR14/03Delivery of the Council’s capital receipts programme through the sale of the Herlington Centre, Orton Malborne.


January 2015



Simon WebberCapital Projects OfficerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Peterborough City Council Customer Strategy 2014 - KEY/21MAR14/06To approve the Customer Strategy. The vision is to provide a range of high-quality services whilst maximising customer satisfaction and delivering these services through different channels at the lowest reasonable cost, whilst also reducing or diverting demand.

Cabinet February 2015



Adrian ChapmanAssistant Director for Communities and Targeted ServicesTel: 01733 [email protected]


Formalise Integrated Community Equipment Service Funding and Commissioning Arrangements - KEY/18APR14/01To formalise integrated community equipment service joint funding arrangements.


January 2015

Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues


Nick BlakeHead of Commissioning for Older People, Physical Disabilities and Sensory ImpairmentTel: 01733 [email protected]


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DECISION MAKER





Award of Contract for Build of a Waste Transfer Station - KEY/18APR14/02To award a contract for the build of a waste transfer station.

Councillor Gavin ElseyCabinet Member for Street Scene, Waste Management and Communications

January 2015



Paul RobertsonWaste Project OfficerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Award of Contract for Build of a Household Recycling Centre - KEY/18APR14/03To award a contract for the build of a household recycling centre.


January 2015



Paul RobertsonWaste Project OfficerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Print Managed Services - KEY/13JUN14/01To enable Council officers to be able to print, copy and scan.


January 2015



Ricky FullerHead of Strategic Commissioning/TransformationTel: 01733 [email protected]


New Model for Transforming Day Opportunities for Adults Under 65 - KEY/25AUG14/02To approve the proposed model for implementation.

Cabinet 15 December 2014

Scrutiny Commission for Health Issues




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DECISION MAKER





Southfields Primary School Expansion - KEY/05SEP14/01To authorise the construction of an extension to accommodate the expansion of Southfields Primary School.


January 2015

Creating Opportunities and Tackling Inequalities


Emma EverittProject Support OfficerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Fit to Rent Scheme – KEY/17OCT14/01To improve standards and management of properties in the private rented sector.



Relevant internal and external stakeholders

Belinda ChildHousing Strategic ManagerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Sale of Former London Road Allotments – KEY/17OCT14/03To authorise the negotiation and conclusion of the sale of the former London Road Allotments, Peterborough.


January 2015



David GrayCapital Projects OfficerTel: 01733 [email protected]


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DECISION MAKER





Future of Solar and Wind Projects – KEY/14NOV14/01To approve the cessation of the solar/wind projects at Newborough Farm and Morris Fen and to consider the way forward in respect of America Farm.




John HarrisonExecutive Director ResourcesTel: 01733 [email protected]


Residential Care – KEY14/19NOV14/01To authorise the Director of Adult Social Care to make residential placements.


January 2015

Strong and Supportive Communities


Rob HenchyCommissioning ManagerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Budget Proposals – KEY/28NOV14/01To recommend the first tranche of budget proposals to Council.



Relevant Internal and External Stakeholders



Extra Care Housing – KEY/12DEC14/02To approve the award of contracts to provide personal care and support at five extra care schemes.



Residents and carers, housing providers, care providers and relevant internal departments.

Nick BlakeHead of CommissioningTel: 01733 [email protected]


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DECISION MAKER



CONSULTATION CONTACT DETAILS / REPORT AUTHOR


Advocacy Services – KEY/12DEC14/03To approve the award of contract for the adult social care advocacy services.



People utilising the services, partnership boards and relevant internal departments.

Nick BlakeHead of CommissioningTel: 01733 [email protected]


Hampton Gardens Secondary School – KEY/12DEC14/04To approve the award of the contract for the design and build of the school.

Councillor John Holdich Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and University

June 2015 Creating Opportunities and Tackling Inequalities


Emma EverittProject Officer (Schools Infrastructure)Tel: 01733 [email protected]


Installation of Solar Panels on Roof TopsTo consider and approve a Roof Top Solar PV Scheme on non-Council premises.




Andy CoxProjects and Programme ManagerTel: 01733 452465


Council Server Estate - KEY/26DEC14/01To approve the move of on-site Council servers to an off-site provider.


January 2015



Richard GodfreyICT Strategy, Infrastructure and Programmes ManagerTel: 01733 [email protected]


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PART 2 – NOTICE OF INTENTION TO TAKE DECISIONS IN PRIVATE

KEY DECISIONS TO BE TAKEN IN PRIVATE


DECISION MAKER





NONE AT THE CURRENT TIME

71

PART 3 – NOTIFICATION OF NON-KEY DECISIONS

NON-KEY DECISIONS

DECISION REQUIRED DECISION MAKER





Peterborough Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule For Cabinet to approve the Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule and recommend its adoption by Council.

Cabinet April 2015 Sustainable Growth and Environment Capital


Brendan TroyPrincipal Infrastructure & Monitoring OfficerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document (SPDFor Cabinet to approve the supplementary planning document.

Cabinet April 2015 Sustainable Growth and Environment Capital


Brendan TroyPrincipal Infrastructure & Monitoring OfficerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Coroner Shared Service with Cambs County CouncilTo approve a shared service between Peterborough and Cambs County Council Coroner’s Service.


January 2015 Sustainable Growth and Environment Capital


Kim SawyerDirector of GovernanceTel: 01733 [email protected]


72






Introduction of a Respite Care Policy for AdultsTo approve the introduction of a respite policy for adults who are eligible for social care services.


January 2015 Strong and Supportive Scrutiny Committee


Kim SawyerDirector of GovernanceTel: 01733 [email protected]


Personal Budgets in PeterboroughTo agree to adopt Peterborough’s Personal Budget Policy Statement as part of the revised statutory duties that apply to the Council as part of the SEND reforms, under the Children and Families Act 2014.




Carrie GambleCommissionerTel: 01733 [email protected]


Post 16 Transport PolicyTo approve updates to the Post 16 Transport policy.


January 2015 Creating Opportunities and Tackling Inequalities


Sara ThompsonTeam Manager (Passenger Transport Operations)Tel: 01733 [email protected]


73






Hampton Gardens Secondary School – Collaboration AgreementTo approve entering into the relevant funding, collaboration and operation agreements with Cambridgeshire County Council.


January 2015 Creating Opportunities and Tackling Inequalities


Emma EverittProject Officer (Schools Infrastructure)Tel: 01733 [email protected]

It is not anticipated that there will by any documents other than the report and relevant appendices to be published.

The Mobile Homes Act 2013 Fees PolicyTo approve public consultation of the draft fees policy.

Councillor Peter HillerCabinet Member for Planning and Housing Services



Belinda ChildHead of Housing and Health ImprovementTel: 01733 [email protected]


Culture StrategyTo approve and recommend the Strategy to Council.




Douglas GyteStrategic Tourism ManagerTel: 01733 453490


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DIRECTORATE RESPONSIBILITIES

RESOURCES DEPARTMENT Executive Director's Office at Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough, PE1 1HGStrategic FinanceInternal AuditSchools Infrastructure (Assets and School Place Planning)Corporate PropertyWaste and EnergyStrategic Client Services (Enterprise Peterborough / Vivacity / SERCO including Customer Services, ICT and Business Support)

CHILDREN’S SERVICES DEPARTMENT Executive Director’s Office at Bayard Place, Broadway, PE1 1FBSafeguarding Family and CommunitiesEducation School ImprovementSpecial Educational Needs / Inclusion and the Pupil Referral Service

ADULT SOCIAL CARE Executive Director’s Office at Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough, PE1 1HGCare Services Delivery (Assessment and Care Management and Integrated Learning Disability Services) Mental HealthPublic Health (including Health Performance Management)

COMMUNITIES DEPARTMENT Director’s Office at Bayard Place, Broadway, PE1 1FBStrategic Commissioning Safer Peterborough, Cohesion, Social Inclusion and Neighbourhood Management

GOVERNANCE DEPARTMENT Director’s Office at Town Hall, Bridge Street, Peterborough, PE1 1HGCommunicationsLegal and Governance Services HR Business Relations (Training and Development, Occupational Health and Reward and Policy)Strategic Regulatory ServicesPerformance Management

GROWTH AND REGENERATION DEPARTMENT Director’s Office Stuart House, St Johns Street, Peterborough, PE1 5DDStrategic Growth and Development ServicesStrategic HousingPlanning Transport and Engineering (Development Management, Construction and Compliance, Infrastructure Planning and Delivery, NetworkManagement and Passenger Transport)Commercial Operations (Strategic Parking and Commercial CCTV, City Centre, Markets and Commercial Trading and Tourism)

75

THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

76

UPDATED: 19 DECEMBER 2014

CREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND TACKLING INEQUALITIES SCRUTINY COMMITTEEWORK PROGRAMME 2014/15

Meeting Date Item Progress

Implementations of Ofsted School Improvement Inspection Action Plan

Contact Officer: Jonathan Lewis / Gary PerkinsDraft School Organisation Plan 2014/2015 - Delivering Local Places for Local Children

Contact Officer: Jonathan LewisNew Vision for Early Years Services Including Children's Centres in Peterborough

Contact Officer: Wendi Ogle-Welbourn

A further update report to be presented to Committee in October.

Directors Report for Social Care Practice and Performance

Contact Officer: Sue WestcottImproving Educational Outcomes Task and Finish Group Report

Contact Officer: Paulina Ford

14 July 2014

25 June Draft report 2 July Final report

Review of 2014/15 and Future Work Programme

To review the work undertaken during 2013/14 and to consider the future work programme of the Committee for 2014/15.

Contact Officer: Paulina Ford

77

UPDATED: 19 DECEMBER 2014 Meeting Date Item Progress

Peterborough Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report (PSCB) 2013/14

Contact Officer: Russell Waite / Jo Bramwell

Children’s (Social Care) Services Statutory Complaints Process (Children act 1989) Annual Report 2013/2014To scrutinise the Children’s (Social Care) Services Statutory Complaints Process (Children act 1989) Annual Report 2013 and make any necessary recommendations.

Contact Officer: Belinda Evans

Follow up report to be provided a the 5 January 2015 meeting to:

1. a route cause analysis which provides more detail around Complaint causes, common issues and what the service area plans to do to address the issues and improve.

2. a report on the outcomes from the workshop held in May 2014 to discuss what causes complaint responses to be delayed.

Special Educational Needs and Disability Reforms

Contact Officer: Jonathan Lewis / Adrian Chapman

A further update report to be presented to Committee in March 2015.

Portfolio Progress Report from Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and UniversityTo scrutinise the progress of the portfolio of the Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and University including 2014 unvalidated examination results, Ofsted 16 – 19 Inspection and school to school improvement developments

Contact Officer: Jonathan Lewis

8 September 2014

20 Aug Draft report 27 Aug Final report


Contact Officer: Sue Westcott

78


Performance Report on NEET / Raising the Participation Age

Contact Officer: Jonathan Lewis // Denham HughesReport from Corporate Parenting Chair

Contact Officer: Sharon HawkinsPortfolio Progress Report from Cabinet Member for Children’s Services

Contact Officer: Sue Westcott Children's Centres and Early Years Update

Contact Officer: Wendi Ogle-Welbourn

13 October 2014

24 Sept Draft report 1 Oct Final report

Pupil Referral Service

Contact Officer: Jonathan Lewis / Claire George

The Connecting Families Programme

Contact Officer: Wendi Ogle-WelbournPupil Premium


10 November 201422 Oct Draft report

29 Oct Final report

Recruitment and Retention of Social Workers


79



Contact Officer: Sue Westcott16 – 19 Ofsted Inspection Action Plan


Scrutiny in a Day – One Year On – Event Proposal

Contact officer: Adrian Chapman / Ian Phillips

3 December 2014(Joint Meeting of the Scrutiny Committees and Commissions)

Budget 2015/16 and Medium Term Financial Plan – Phase OneTo scrutinise the Executive’s proposals for the Budget 2015/16 and Medium Term Financial Plan.

Contact Officer: John Harrison/Steven Pilsworth

City College Peterborough

To scrutinise the role the City College has to play in delivering improved educational and other outcomes for the city.

Contact Officer: Pat Carrington, Principal/Head of Service

5 January 201515 Dec Draft report

22 Dec Final report

Children’s (Social Care) Services Statutory Complaints Process - Follow up report from Annual Report 2013

Contact Officer: Belinda Evans

80


Placement Strategy

Contact Officer: Lou Williams / Simon GreenDirectors Report for Social Care Practice and Performance


9 February 2015(Joint Meeting of the Scrutiny Committees and Commissions)

Budget 2015/16 and Medium Term Financial Plan – Phase TwoTo scrutinise the Executive’s proposals for the Budget 2015/16 and Medium Term Financial Plan.

Contact Officer: John Harrison/Steven Pilsworth

Presentation of 2014 KS 4 & KS2 Validated Examination Results

To scrutinise the 2014 examination results, assess the impact of the action plan to improve educational results and make any necessary recommendations

Contact Officer: Jonathan LewisReport from Corporate Parenting Chair

Contact Officer: Sharon Hawkins

9 March 201518 Feb Draft report

25 Feb Final report

Free School Meals


81


Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Reforms Update

Contact Officer: Jonathan Lewis / Adrian Chapman



To be programmed in for 2015/2016

Connecting Families update – June 2015 – Wendi Ogle-Welbourn

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Government & Nonprofit

Creating Opportunities and Tackling Inequalities Scrutiny Committee